How Like a Fallen Angel
by poe1911
Summary: The continuing story of Ian and Dawn. When one of them is seriously hurt, will the relationship survive, or will they fall apart when they're needed the most. Because evil is making a comeback
1. Christmas Eve and Other stories

This is my fourth and final story in the Ian/Dawn series. It began with 'The Seraph', continued with 'Hearts in Darkness' and then 'Through an Angel's Eyes. If you haven't read any of those stories, then you will have some questions about this one. For those who love the characters, they will probably appear again, but in a crossover (possibly Stargate SG-1). I hope that all of you have enjoyed reading these stories as much as I have in writing them. I am always surprised at where the story will end up, as opposed to where I wanted it to go. The usual disclaimers apply, of course; several of the characters are mine, so use only with permission please. The rest are the property of Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, and a host of corporate suits and lawyers (maybe that could be a new series, Buffy the Lawyer Slayer: have her tackle some real evil). As always, thanks to Peaches, Banadar and Cathode for their always helpful beta reading and criticism. Thanks to Katie, for all her reviews, and thank you anonymous reader; I hope you are able to take something from this story that makes things just a bit better. Thank you for letting me into your lives for just a little bit.

POE1911

YOU BETTER TELL ALL THE PEOPLE, TO WATCH FOR A SIGN.

TO MAKE THEM GLAD THEY ARE LIVING IN THIS LIFE AND TIME.

THE ANGELS HAVE FALLEN, THEY'VE ALL GONE AWAY.

IT'S YOU THAT MUST FIND THEM, BY LIVING EACH DAY.

KANSAS

THE SERAPH IV – HOW LIKE A FALLEN ANGEL

PROLOGUE

"Where the heck are they" Buffy raged "they should have been here yesterday. I know that they're stuck somewhere dangerous, or worse, somewhere romantic."

"Chill B; you know that the job comes first, just like it does for us. They'll be here, just be patient."

"But the others are going to be here today, and it just won't be right if everyone's not together for Christmas."

"Wow, I heard stories about how you become unhinged at holidays; like Thanksgiving, I just didn't believe it till now. Listen, everyone that can make it, will, and it'll be cool; no, it won't be perfect, but life never is."

"Jeez Faith, what's with the Tony Robbins act."

"What can I say B, some of us grow. Now, if you wanna make something of that, I'll be in the training room."

Faith wandered off, leaving Buffy just sputtering in the middle of the room. Reluctantly she admitted, to herself only, that Faith was right; but a little sparring to take out frustrations was an excellent remedy. "OOOOOH Faith, I'm so gonna kick your ass for that."

She burst into the training room, just in time to catch the practice sword that the dark slayer had chucked at her. She heard a chuckle and then Faith's voice saying "Come on Blondie, I'll take it easy on you, so you don't break a nail or something."

Not being able to allow that kind of dis, Buffy readied herself, and charged her sister slayer, with a huge grin on her face.

HOW LIKE A FALLEN ANGEL – CHAPTER 1

Assignments like this always seem to chap my butt. We had to deal with a Father and Son who were not speaking to each other. The son won't live to see another Christmas; so we need to facilitate the reconciliation. Unfortunately I'm not allowed to deal with it the way I'd like to. Whack em both on the head, tell em that they're behaving like imbeciles, and lock em in a room until they understand that. Nooooooo, I've got to get them talking from their own free will, I can't use force, even if that means we're late for Christmas. Dawn was surprisingly unflustered by the whole thing.

"Buffy always goes berserk when she's in charge of holidays; we're not missing anything by being late."

I know that she's right; it's just that Calumet on Michigan's Upper Peninsula is like being nowhere at all; literally. Unless you happen to like cold, ice, snow, and getting so drunk that you can't see straight. We had been there two days, (which in my opinion was a day and a half too much) and although our opening play had worked, it hadn't worked well enough. The two had met without killing each other but they seemed unwilling to finish the journey. We were hoping the 'dog for the grandson' ploy would seal the deal. We were watching and Dawn was supplying this half baked commentary, like she was a play by play announcer. I wanted to laugh, but I didn't want to distract the two men, and be forced to stay here longer. The father was explaining about the dog he had bought for his grandson, when the son took a picture out of his wallet and said the words "remember when". Pretty soon, there was laughing and hugging and two very satisfied people, oh, and the father and son were cool too.

We left the bar, and walked down the road to 'Honest Wally's Tree Emporium' and bought the largest Frasier Fir that they had left. Checking that we had everything, especially presents, we caught 'the express' to Spain.

We came to ourselves in the front room, and no-one was around. It took a second, but then we heard the distinct yelling and cracking of a practice session going on. Dawn looked at me, and with a wicked grin said "wanna go say hello properly"? We stashed the tree and presents and pulled out a pair of practice swords and went to the training room. We stood outside and listened to Faith taunt Buffy and Buffy call Faith several unflattering names; then on the count of three we burst through the doors and into the room. Both slayers froze at the sound of the doors opening, and in that instant of silence Dawn said, with a boatload of sarcasm, "wow, that slayer vigilance sure is something, no way anyone could sneak up on them."

Stung by the verbal jab, the slayers just looked at each other, and then with matching grins, attacked the two of us. It was a very memorable encounter, as my bruises will attest to; in the end we all stopped by mutual accord. We were just standing there, trying to catch our breath, when Buffy asked why we were late. Dawn proceeded to tell and amusing version of our last mission, and the other things that had happened since our Cleveland adventure. I was surprised again at how different our perceptions were of events. She had seen things in ways that I had not, and I was forcefully reminded of how lucky I was to have her.

We put our stuff away in our usual room and showered; we didn't even delay too much, then went to help decorate the tree. We got it together pretty quickly, and were just sitting there enjoying the tree and listening to one of 'Manheim Steamroller's' Christmas albums when the phone rang. It was Giles. He said that their plane had just landed and he wanted to know if there was anything that they needed to pick up on the way. Buffy told him no, and said for all of them to hurry up. It was funny to watch her, she so wanted to see to every detail and that was fighting against everyone's advice to just chill.

Dawn and I went to the kitchen to knock some dinner together, we decided on broiled fish and stir fried veggies. Despite my lack of free time, I do enjoy cooking and so does Dawn, so we take every opportunity to do so. Anyway, dinner was about half an hour away, when the group from England showed up. Giles was there, with Olivia, Xander, Willow and Dawn's friend Allana. Dawn ran out to greet her friends, while I remained behind in the kitchen. They shared a past that I was not a part of, and I felt it best to let them bask in that for a while. Dawn was hilarious, talking to three different people at a mile a minute; at times it didn't seem like the girl needed to breathe.

Everyone was talking and hugging in the front room, while I put the finishing touches on dinner. I was surprised when Willow came back to help me. I guess she was feeling a bit like a fifth wheel, and just needed some company. That was fine with me; hey I could use the help and I really liked the red headed witch. Her sense of humor and play really complimented mine. At first I was so intent on dinner, that I did not even sense her presence.

"Hey there, stud muffin" she said.

I jerked so hard that I almost burned myself on the wok. "Just scare a couple of years out of me there Will" I teased back, and she just laughed.

We compared notes on how things had gone since we last talked. I could tell that she loved her work with the coven, but I also could tell she was lonely. When you're in a position of authority, you are set apart from everyone else; that can take a lot out of you. So we talked while finishing up; actually she talked and I listened. She was always fun to listen to, because she would drift into babble mode every now and again. We talked about serious stuff, but it was tough no to laugh at times.

At dinner, everyone was planning on finishing their shopping tomorrow; everyone except me. My shopping was done. I just keep my eyes open all year and when I see something that I think is perfect, I buy it. That way, I just sit back and relax instead of running myself ragged during the holidays.

The after dinner conversation was a little awkward. There was the original four, and then you had the rest of us. It's not that we were ignored, we simply didn't have the depth of history that they did. The conversation took a turn to holidays past, and everyone had fun twitting Buffy on her holiday spazz fest. It was funny to hear, but I could tell that some of us felt a little out of the loop. It got late and we all went to bed. Lying there, with my arms around dawn, I wondered what it would be like to have friends that were that true for that long. I had Dawn and Faith, but that was pretty much it. To have that kind of network, and to have it survive everything that they had gone through was miraculous.

The next morning everyone headed to town, or so I thought. I had a leisurely breakfast and was in the training room, doing some Tai – Chi, when the door opened. There was Allana. I suppose that she didn't need to shop either, but I felt that there was something wrong. Being what I was, I couldn't just let that go, so I motioned her over.

"I don't want to interrupt" she said.

"You're not" I answered, "but I think that this would help right now."

She came over and I showed her some of the basic moves and then told her to just follow my lead. She was a fast learner. I could feel the tension leaving her as she moved through the exercise. When we finished, I asked her what was wrong.

"How do you cope with all of the past that they have?"

"I just keep in mind that the past is what shaped Dawn into the person I love. Remember that Xander's past both created and refined those qualities that attracted you and keep you with him. Yeah, sometimes it's painful to hear them go on about things you don't know and weren't a part of; but remember, you have a past as well that doesn't include him. My guess is he's just as intimidated by that as you are by his. If you want me to I'll talk to him about excluding you from the conversation, just don't ask him to ignore his past.

"It's just that there are times when I feel like it's not just a few rooms, but a whole wing that I'm just supposed to keep out of, and if I ask about it, he just shuts down."

"It may be because he's embarrassed, I mean, some of the things that I've heard about his past, you just don't open up to everyone about. Hey, ask him about the time he became a hyena. The way he tells it, it's a hoot."

"He became a hyena? What else do you know?"

"Quite a bit, but those are his stories to tell; just ask him, you might be surprised. Do keep in mind, that he truly does love you. I haven't seen him much, but I can at least tell that."

"Thanks, I appreciate that. Total subject change, you and Dawn, still together?"

"Yeah we are, a bit over two years now."

"Can I ask you something a bit touchy?"

"Sure, I mean there's no guarantee that I'll answer it, but feel free to ask."

"Fair enough, Dawn isn't human, is she?" I started a bit and she quickly went on, "Xander sometimes tells me these wild stories about Vampires and Demons and Apocolypses, and in a couple he mentions Dawn like she's not human, so is she?"

"In your studies, did you ever learn about an artifact known only as 'The Key'?"

"Yeah, it's supposed to be this dimensional gate opening 'all possible worlds', whatever that means."

"Well, up until six years ago, Dawn was 'The Key'; literally this globe of energy. Then a moderately powerful Hell goddess got loose and tried to find 'The Key' so she could return to her dimension. Well, the guardians of 'The Key' turned it human so the goddess wouldn't be able to find it, and they sent it to the slayer (Buffy) as her sister so she would protect it. And thus, Dawn Summers came into being."

"That's pretty out there."

"Yeah, but it's true."

"How do I know, you could be lying."

"I can't lie."

"Why not?"

I looked at her deeply for a second, she really didn't know. "Because I'm an angel, a Seraph to be precise, and if I lie, I forfeit all my powers and become mortal. So it's a pretty safe bet to say that you can trust me."

"Right, you're an angel; I would get stuck with some nut here in the middle of nowhere."

I just rolled my eyes, "why is it so easy to believe in demons and not angels. Honestly, is it that hard to believe?"

"Hey, I'm still not too sure about demons, OK."

"Ok, hang on a sec", I removed my shirt and grew my wings for her. "See, angel."

She just stood there for a second and then started stroking them and looking at where they attached to my body. "Well, I gotta say, I'm more open to the idea now. So, if I ask you a question you have to tell the truth?"

"Yeah, if it falls under general knowledge I will. If I think you're being to personal, I'll just not answer."

She thought that one over; "again, fair enough; so the stuff that Xander and the council folks talk about, monsters and demons, they're all real?"

"Pretty much, yeah."

"God, I thought that he was just being mysterious to cover some boring job, can I trust him?"

"With your life."

She looked pleased to hear that, and then we fell to discussing demons and why they were here and the whole hidden world that existed. She had just asked about benign demons when the band returned from a mini tour that they had been on. I observed that they were a few weeks early, and was told that they had to cut it off because the Fyarl demons that handled stage security had gotten a little over enthusiastic. Most of them left, not being that comfortable around me, but Oz and Clem came over to talk. Allana couldn't seem to take her eyes off Clem, and the gregarious demon was becoming a little tongue tied. She finally loosened up and started asking him about his life and things he had done. Oz just sat there quietly absorbing the conversation; I guess he probably had not had much of this for a while. After wearing out Clem, Allana turned to Oz and asked, "so, what kind of demon are you?"

He looked taken aback, like he couldn't believe someone was speaking to him; he cleared his throat "I'm not."

She looked surprised, "so, you're normal?"

"I guess."

"Are you human?"

"Depends"

"On what?"

"Time, mood, stuff"

I could see that Allana was getting frustrated, so I broke in; "Oz is a werewolf."

"You mean werewolves are real too?"

"Yep" Oz answered.

"So are there any regular human beings at this place."

"Just you, Xander, Giles, Olivia and Willy; although Willy used to run a bar for demons and Giles uses magic on occasion."

I could see that she was trying to take all of this in, when the shopping party returned. They all came in talking to each other in a crowd, there must have been six different conversations going on at once. Dawn came over to speak to us, but then caught sight of Clem and jumped into his arms with a yell. She hadn't seen her friend in some time and so she proceeded to catch up. The rest of the shoppers were still talking about what they had seen, and Faith breaking a pickpocket's hand; when silence descended on the room. I suppose that they first thought it was Whistler sitting there with us, after all there was some superficial resemblance, but when the reality set in, everyone from England froze.

No-one seemed to know what to do until Faith cleared her throat "I guess you all remember Oz."

Once the spell of silence was broken; both Xander and Giles started asking questions at the same time. Oz probably didn't even hear them; his attention was focused entirely upon Willow. His eyes appeared luminous and seemed to drink in her essence; to me he looked truly alive for the first time that I had known him.

He flashed a little half smile and wave "hi guys" he muttered, "hey Will."

For her part, Willow's mouth moved, but no sound seemed to come out. "Oz, what are you doing here?"

"They needed a bass player, and I needed a gig" he answered.

They fell silent again and just stared at each other. Finally Xander broke the silence, "so, who's fixing dinner?"

Dawn, Allana and I went in to put some dinner together while the 'Scoobies' caught up with Oz and vice versa. We put together a pretty descent meal, but again there were a few of us who wee definitely out of the conversational loop. Dawn and Allana did some catching up with each other, kind of reawakening their friendship, so I spoke to Olivia during dinner. She was a very pleasant woman, but she seemed out of her depth. I noticed a ring on her finger and was surprised to discover that Giles had finally proposed. I guess he finally felt that he had a bit of security. After dinner, we were relaxing around a fire when Allana asked; "how did you become a Hyena?" There was a sudden explosion of laughter as Xander was encouraged to tell the story, but anytime he started to skip over the details, the others would chip in with the whole story.

After the story was told, the evening turned into a funny story fest, with everyone sharing their most amusing stories. Like the Halloween experiences, the Band Candy incident, a very funny Valentines Day, and the Indian attack at Thanksgiving. Dawn kicked in a few of our sillier escapades; and the night dissolved in laughter and love. Personally, I could not stop laughing about the time all the girls fell in love with a guy because of his jacket. Eventually everyone called it a night. Dawn and I were just about the last to turn in, but there were Willow and Oz, not speaking but just sharing the fire. I thought it was a pretty good development.


	2. Christmas in the Aire

HOW LIKE A FALLEN ANGEL – Chapter 2

I can set an internal alarm clock and get myself up any time I want. It was something I could do even before I became a Seraph. I got myself up at five AM on Christmas morning. This would allow me time to pop to my apartment, pick up some presents and be back before anyone was awake. I crept out of our room as silently as possible, found an unused room and caught 'the express' to Rome. I found all of the presents and popped back to the Academy. I put one where it would be safe, and the rest, under the tree. I then got coffee going, started a fire, but Windham Hill's Christmas CD on and sat down with 'The Fair God' by Lew Wallace. After about forty five minutes, I still hadn't heard any stirring from the rooms, mice or otherwise. I was thinking about going in and jump starting the festivities when I felt the energy surge of an incoming Seraph. I flared my essence a second to let them know exactly where I was, and in a couple of minutes, Janice was there. She looked great. I helped her with her armful of presents, gave her a hug and asked her how she had been, where she had been and how her assignments had gone. From her response, I could tell that they hadn't all gone well. I let it lay for the moment, but I was determined to speak to her about it later.

After answering all of my questions, and asking a few of her own, she simply paused and looked around the room. "So this is Christmas" was all she said. I left her to bask in the fire and the music and the tree while I fetched her a mug of hot chocolate. When I got back, she was still standing there wide eyed. "I asked a girl I was helping about it, and Brittney had some neat memories, but experiencing it for yourself is nearly overwhelming." The CD was currently playing Jim Brickman's rendition of 'O Holy Night' and I could see tears forming in her eyes at the sound, combined with everything else. She took a second to compose herself and turned to me. "Where's everyone else, I was told that people were usually up at the crack of dawn on Christmas day?"

"That's probably true for kids, and although Dawn and Faith still qualify, at least mentally, most people sleep in a bit if they can." Just as the words were out of my mouth, we heard shuffling in the hallway and three yawning people wandered in. It was Dawn, Faith and Willow. Willow gave a little yip of joy and helped herself to the coffee, Faith hugged Janice and Dawn came up and gave me a hug and kiss. Actually it was several kisses, but who's counting. I looked over to see Faith and Janice smiling and chatting animatedly; it was comforting to see my plans and decisions and hopes fulfilled so completely. After a few whispered sentences, they moved back out of the room, vowing to wake everyone else up; and get them down there for presents. Oz picked that moment to walk in. He quietly eased over to the coffee and started chatting with Willow. Dawn and I just stood there and wished each other a merry Christmas, of course for us; that included even more kissing. Sudden yells and threats from the direction of the guest quarters suggested that Faith and Janice were being successful in rousing the ones that were trying to sleep in.

Soon a laughing Faith and Janice strolled back in, followed by everyone except Buffy. Most of the faces looked less than thrilled to be up at the moment. An exasperated Faith yelled back "get your butt down here Summers, we're all waiting on you.

Unfortunately Buffy chose to answer with "make me."

Faith smiled and started back, unable to resist that kind of challenge. Janice stopped her and then closed her eyes. All the sudden, a noise erupted from Buffy's room that sounded like dueling fire alarms.

Buffy came flying out of her room; not wearing much and her hair all disheveled. As soon as he appeared, Janice opened her eyes and the noise stopped. "What the hell was that" Buffy yelled.

Faith and Janice were almost doubled up with laughter "that was your wake up call, if you try to go back to bed, you will hear it again" Janice said.

Buffy may have been in the mood to comment further on Janice's prank, but Xander cut in "hey, who's for presents?"

Suddenly a lot was forgotten as everyone surged towards the tree and started sorting stuff. As soon as it was properly distributed, everyone started digging in. I got CD's from Xander, Janice and Willow. What was funny was that the CD's I got from Janice were all techno, Celtic music like the 'Chieftains' from Willow and grunge like 'Screaming Trees' from Xander. I guess they all felt I needed to expand my musical horizons. Considering the prior commentary on my musical taste, a lot of laughter accompanied each addition to my musical library.

Oz had gotten all the girls, except Janice, sarongs that had been custom dyed. Each one really seemed to match the person it was intended for.

Giles gave everyone books, no surprise there. I got one on early Christianity.

Buffy and Faith gave Dawn and I matching restored 1863 Colt Navy revolvers, the kind that shoot powder and ball instead of prepared bullets. With these they gave us a supply of balls that were silver. "So you don't have to mix it up if you don't want to" Faith said. The pistols were beautiful and perfectly restored.

I gave Dawn a large silver cross, with a ruby heart at the center. On the back it said 'to the answer of my heart's every wish'. She loved it, thank goodness.

Dawn got me a leather duster that had sheaths built into the lining os that I could carry my weapons a bit more discretely.

Janice opened her present from Faith, and we were all struck silent. She had given the younger girl the knife that the mayor had given her. It was probably the last bit of her former life that she had held on to, and now she was giving it away. Janice was silent for a moment or two, and then looking up, realized exactly what it was and what it meant to the dark slayer. She leaned over and gave her adopted sister a fierce hug.

Faith's present from Janice was equally memorable; she opened a box and there were two knife size replicas of Janice's sword (what was it with this girl and knives). They were exact in every way, including the symbol at the hilts, and I knew that no human had made them. Faith was stunned by the beauty of the gift and thanked Janice profusely.

Then I left and brought in Buffy and Faith's present from Dawn and myself. I set it down in front of them, and there was an immediate bump from the box. They carefully opened it together, and when the lid was off, they saw two balls of fluff. One was a Schipperke puppy with the tail intact, and the other was an American Eskimo puppy. They looked exactly alike except that one was solid black and the other solid white. The Schip looked up and planting its feet on the Eski, jumped yipping right into Buffy's arms. The Eski just shot Faith a mournful look, as if to say 'see what I've got to put up with' and immediately Faith was cooing and pulling the puppy from the box. It was funny because the  
Eski kept giving the Schip disapproving glances, the kind that Faith was used to receiving, so she said that her dog would be named 'Annie'. When she heard this, Buffy looked up from the Schip bounding all over and attacking the paper and yipping constantly and declared that her puppy would be named 'Spazz'. Immediately all the girls were fawning all over the puppies and making silly sounds. The guys just didn't seem to get it.

Eventually Dawn asked if there were any presents left, and Janice spoke up "I've got something that isn't exactly a Christmas present, but this seems like a good time for it"; and standing, she removed an envelope from her shirt and began to read:

To Whom It May Concern:

I have been told, in such a way as I believe that Ms Faith LeHane, a fugitive from the State of California, has rendered great service to both her country and indeed the world. While I cannot and will not condone the circumstances that caused her incarceration, I can and do believe that she is not the same person that she once was. I therefore grant this pardon to Ms LeHane for all crimes prior to this day, and declare that she is free from any prosecution or recrimination due to her past deeds. A copy of the official pardon will be filed with the State of California and Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Again, Ms LeHane, thank you for all that you have done, and continue to do, my father spoke of points of light that you can only see when things are dark, I believe that you are a very bright light indeed. Good luck and God bless.

George W Bush

P.S. My daughter Barb asked me it you were the singer for the group the 'Faithful Remnants'. I checked with agent Finn and he confirmed that you were. Barb then played a bootleg copy of a song called 'Anne'. I must admit that I usually like country and western, but that was a real dilly of a song. If you ever release it on CD, I would love a copy. Thanks.

Janice finished reading and there wasn't a dry eye in the house, especially Faith's. Buffy spoke, her voice husky with emotion "freedom, that's one hell of a present". Janice had not experienced what everyone else had so she was surprised at the degree that the letter had affected everyone. Buffy leaned forward and hugged Faith "you're free, and you've got your name and your life back" she whispered to her sister slayer, this just served to make Faith cry all the harder. Suddenly everyone was joining Buffy, and there was a huge group hug that centered on Faith. I know that the brunet was a bit embarrassed by her display of emotion, but I also knew that she finally felt secure enough with all of us to allow us to see her weak, and that was quite a change from the old Faith.

Eventually the water works subsided and Xander spoke up "I still have a present to give". We were still kind of centered on Faith, but we all turned to hem as he removed a small box from his pocket. Looking up at his girlfriend he asked "Allana Cipparrone, will you marry me?"

Suddenly there was silence, complete and total. Even Spazz had shut up for the moment, probably because she was chewing on my new coat; it was so quiet that you could hear everyone breathing.

She looked scared for a second, but said "Yes, oh yes" and threw herself into Xander's arms.

Just a moment ago, everyone had been crying, now we were celebrating, that's why I loved these people so. We all took turns congratulating Xander and Allana. Of course we were all invited to the wedding on July first. Dawn was even asked to be maid of honor; and Xander asked if I would be a groomsman. Needless to say, we both agreed and wished them well.

We had a great day. Spazz and Annie provided hours of amusement and those of us who had missed out were regaled with tales from Xander's first almost wedding. I got a kick out of how Anya wanted the term 'sex poodle' in the vows. One other thing that I noticed that day was the attention Willow was paying to Oz and vice versa. To me it felt like they were discovering each other all over again. After a truly spectacular dinner, there was just one last piece of business to take care of.

I knocked on Faith's door, and was told to come in. I found Janice inside trying to teach Faith to play chess. Annie was there as well, periodically attacking the pieces, both on and off the board.

"OK, so why the hell does the horse move that way?"

"It just does."

"Well that's stupid!"

"No, that's chess." Janice chuckled at Faith's frustration.

"Hey Ian, do you understand this crazy ass game?"

"Yes I do" I answered "but this is not the time for a chess lesson."

Faith looked up, a bit alarmed at my tone "what's going on Ian?"

I didn't answer her; I just looked at Janice, who suddenly was not looking at either of us.

Faith looked to her adopted sister, "what's going on Little J?"

Janice continued to be silent. I could feel that Faith was starting to get angry, when Janice started talking. "I was down in Brazil, working to settle a feud between some farmers and some eco-activists. You wouldn't think that two groups like that would resort to violence, but each of them had. In addition, they had hired gangs of criminals to do the things that they could not bring themselves to do. They disgusted me on a fundamental level, the way that they were so casual about killing and rape and torture. Anyway, it took some time, but I finally got the heads of each group to sit down and talk. And it was working. They were about to reach a compromise when the heads of the gangs broke in and killed them both. You see, peace would have meant that they were out of jobs, and they enjoyed what they were doing too much. As soon as it happened, I just lost it. I attacked them; I pulled my sword and so wanted to kill them, but slowly so it would be agonizing. I did cut the hand off of the one that was threatening me with a gun, but the others were unarmed, and it was all I could do to restrain myself. That outburst of rage and hatred meant that I had to be reviewed, and Ian can tell you what that is like. I was so ashamed of myself, feeling like I had betrayed my calling, I still want to hurt them at times, I mean it's getting better, but the anger is still there, mostly because I cannot do anything to them."

Faith gathered the sobbing girl into her arms "never be ashamed of being human sis, it's when you stop, that I would be ashamed." Faith shot a look at me, and I nodded. She turned back to Janice and began to tell the story of a certain Seraph and a father that had sold his daughter to a demon cult. She held nothing back, in describing the situation or my reaction to it; the anger and loathing; the desire for vengeance, and the wish to be the instrument of that vengeance. I felt my guts knot up, reliving that situation and realizing that even now, I was not completely over it. I looked down at Janice and saw that Annie was in her arms and licking the tears off her face. Faith, looking into her eyes, said "you will get over it, in time you'll heal, don't let one incident corrupt all the good that you have done and are still to do".

"Listen to your sister" I said. "I will always listen whenever you need to talk, but I could not give you better advice than she already has. Hear her words and heal."

I eased myself out of the room, letting the two of them comfort each other. I knew that with Faith's support, Janice would be fine. I went back to my room to help Dawn get ready to leave in the morning. Just seeing her, here and now served to remind me of just how fortunate I was. I realized that I would never receive a greater gift than her love and friendship. Softly I closed the door and kissed her and held her, and wrapped her in my feeling of contentment.

The next morning we went back to work.


	3. Winter into Spring

HOW LIKE A FALLEN ANGEL – Chapter 3

We were away and really busy for a month and a half, few of the assignments involved fighting, but those that did had some very intense action. We both ended up with a few new scars and we got to use our new pistols a couple of times. We were becoming so seamless in the way that we worked together it was almost scary. We didn't have to see each other and we barely needed to communicate, we just knew what the other was doing. We got back to the Academy a little after Groundhog Day, and were greeted by a new group of trainees. We had a little difficulty at first because when we showed up, neither Buffy nor Faith was around; and the newbies didn't seem inclined to believe us. When the chosen two finally showed, they told us that they had been in the studio, finally cutting the album. Once Faith was able to headline venues without worrying about being arrested, she agreed to the tour, and of course, making the album. When they came over, both Spazz and Annie came with them, orbiting their masters like furry satellites. The dogs looked well and the slayers looked happy. We told them that we had a couple of days, and of course Faith asked if we could handle being hunted again. I looked at Dawn, and she just grinned "of course" I answered.

"Thanks" Faith said "remember, dirty tricks and no holding back. Otherwise it wouldn't be as instructional; or fun."

We spent the time up until dinner catching up with what was going on here and filled them in on some of our more interesting assignments. It always struck me as surreal, the conversations that we had, and the topics we covered. What we looked upon as commonplace would send most people into years of therapy. I guess it all boils down to what you are used to.

Dinner was fun, with everyone trying to figure out who we were and why we were there. A couple hours after dark, we were out in the woods and twenty slayers came looking for us. I could tell immediately that something was up; the group split into two elements of ten and each element came right for each of us. I stretched my essence out and discovered the reason; one of the trainees was a witch. Untrained, and not the most powerful thing in the world; but she was more than up to the challenge of finding two people in the woods. I communicated to Dawn what was up, and we were forced to improvise our tactics. Fortunately we had planned for such an occasion and were able to generate additional targets I the girl's mind. This was, she didn't know how many of us were actually out in the woods, and couldn't tell which were real until they actually found us. So, our first priority became find this girl and shut her down. I was controlling the doubles while Dawn searched the minds of the slayers. Eventually she was able to pinpoint the girl, what she looked like and where she was. The groups had broken up, smaller bands going for each of the generated doubles as well as ourselves. We realized that the girl was in the group that was closest to Dawn, so I popped over to her and together we attacked her and her four fellow slayers.

Dawn and I were dressed all in black, and we were armed only with Little Earl's gloves. Even with the witch there, they didn't anticipate the speed of our attack. It was clear that they knew how important she was because the other four ringed her protectively. While that slowed us down a bit, it certainly didn't stop us. Circling around, Dawn and I each faced two protectors. I darted in and gave a stiff fingered jab to the one on my left, knocking all the air out of her in one blow; she immediately dropped to the ground retching and gasping for air. I had dropped low to do this and the one on my right swung, but it went over my head. I stood, shooting my head upwards; and it caught her right in the face. She staggered back, eyes wide and blood spraying out of her nose and split lip. While she was focused on her injuries, I reached in and chopped her on the back of the neck and put her out. The first slayer was still on the ground, but she was starting to recover, so I quickly kicked her in the side and knocked whatever air she had sucked into her lungs, out. The witch realized that we were coming for her and turned and ran. Dawn dashed off after her and I faced the one remaining protector. She was good, and slipped in a couple of punches, but she got too cocky and pushed too hard and too far. I dropped and swept her legs, she was down and surprised; her defense was lax. I continued the sweep, pirouetting on my hand, raising my leg slightly and picking up speed. I came around again and my foot connected with her chin in a devastating kick. Her head snapped so hard, I was afraid that I had done serious damage, but she was just out cold. While I was still on the ground I reached over and finally put the gasper out of the fight with a couple of quick shots to the jaw. I quickly rose and went after Dawn.

She had caught the witch/slayer and was currently trading jabs. The girl got anxious and tried to finish Dawn off with a roundhouse right. Dawn ducked under the blow and used her elbow to deliver a vicious blow to the slayers right kidney. The girl crumpled in agony, all thoughts of fighting back gone; her eyes were wide with both pain and fear. She saw Dawn standing there and she saw the blow coming, there was simply nothing she could do about it; and Dawn delivered a five knuckle lullaby. Needless to say, the other slayers had heard the commotion; Dawn especially was almost unable to fight without also delivering a few verbal jabs. However, without their guide, they were late and we were able to grab hands and pop out of the area. Once clear, we surveyed the area and seeing a straggler, we popped in and took care of her; then we popped out again. We used this tactic to pick them off singly and in pairs until the clearing was again filled with unconscious young women. It had taken a bit longer, and we had taken a few more hits than we had anticipated, but no serious damage had been done. Eager for a hot shower and some down time, we headed back to the house.

Not surprisingly both Spazz and Annie heard us coming and alerted the slayers that we were in the house. They found us and we gave them a concise account of the encounter and told who we thought had promise and who really needed work. What we weren't sure about was what to do with the witch/slayer. Dawn suggested having Willow come down and training the girl to use her powers; correctly pointing out that if she remained untrained in magic, she could cause a huge amount of damage if her powers went out of control. I thought it was a good idea, if for no other reason than it got Willow out of the 'office' and doing something again. The slayers said that they would consider this, so Dawn and I went off to that hot shower.

We started kissing in the hall, pausing every few steps. Finally we made it to the bathroom and turned on the shower; steam slowly filled the room as we continued to kiss and hold each other tight. Our hands began moving over each other and, seemingly of their own volition, removing each others clothes. Becoming increasingly impatient, and still partially clothed, we stumbled into the stream of water. We were locked in a tight embrace, lips together, hands working off our last bits of clothing; the water sluicing off us, making vision blurry and skin slick. We broke our kiss, our mouths nipping and licking ears and necks and shoulders; our hands encompassing each others form. She still had on her panties and I still had on my boxers, but the water had rendered them transparent. We were interlocked, tighter and more intense than we had ever been. My mouth drifted down to her breasts, teasing and moving over them as my hands roamed her flanks and sides. My hands became more focused and intent; her hands were in my hair, her head thrown back in a soundless scream. With one hand at her center, my other moved over her skin, finding and healing her bruises. My hand drifted, millimeters off of her body, healing injuries, remembering scars, feeling the heat of her. I sank lower, my mouth tasting her belly and thighs, now both hands seeking out injuries and healing what I found. Finding no more, I moved back up and working my hands into her deep brown hair, pulled her into a fervent kiss. Then, her hands and mouth were on me, teasing and feeling. With the water and steam in the room, clear vision was impossible; but it was not necessary to see her to know where she was. I could feel her, a liquid warmth moving over me and wrapping me in her essence. We continued to make love in the shower for hours, our cries echoing off the tiles and mirrors. Finally, utterly drained, we staggered off to bed, and naked, fell in. We were wrapped in nothing but each other, and thus entwined; we drifted into a deep, dreamless and utterly secure sleep.

The next day, we helped Buffy and Faith work out with the trainees. Just like before, they were pretty upset that we had knocked them out and left them in the woods, but they had to understand that this was a deadly serious calling, and that losing meant dying. We worked on teaching them supporting tactics and group strategy. Like the group before, they learned quickly, and were giving us trouble by the end of the lesson.

After lunch, we went over to band practice to see how it was going. Dawn and I just sat back and watched the recording session; we certainly weren't there to participate. The sound guy from the record company obviously didn't know what to make of Clem or Druk, not to mention the Fyarl demons, but because everyone else accepted it as common, he did too. I leaned back with my eyes closed, listening, and something wasn't right. Faith could tell this as well and immediately stopped the song. She just stood there for a second, and then yelled "Ian, get up here and take Whistler's part so he can provide some fill".

I was really surprised, but not so surprised that I couldn't add my guitar to the mix. I got my guitar and plugged in and we started it back up. The results were amazing. Whistler, when he was freed from playing the 'straight' line provided some incredible fill, and there were times when he doubled me, and the results were really cool. Along with some percussion changes that Buffy provided, the newly arranged song came out hot, and the record guy was pleased. There were still a few songs that we needed to lay down, but it was becoming obvious that another song would be needed to complete the album. We were getting ready to go through 'Anne' again, when Oz suggested 'Knockin' on Heaven's Door' as a good song to cover. Faith wasn't in the mood to do 'Anne' again (she was feeling way too good). So we just fired it up to see where it went. Where it went was great. Dawn had made her way up on stage and was with her sister on backing vocals. It's a fairly simple song but it allowed lots of room for improvisation, which everyone ran with. Faith's voice was also a perfect fit for the tone of the song, and she really wailed. We also added a wild twist towards the end. The song had gotten pretty sedate, just vocals and Druk with some funky keyboard work, when suddenly Oz, Whistler and I pulled some high notes while raising the guitar necks straight up, then we brought them screaming down like kamikazes with Clem and Buffy adding some punctuation from the percussion section. Faith, with her ear for the dramatic, picked up on it and basically delivered a primal yell that would have done justice to Roger Daltry. The song was really roaring and moving the last minute or so, ending with almost an explosion of sound. Everyone loved it. We knocked a few kinks out, and in less than an hour, we had a premium piece on tape. I'm amazed how it sometimes works that way, stuff just falls together like it was made to, and of course I know that sometimes it is planned that way. After all, I work for the planner.

Just as the session was breaking up, Faith asked us to hold off on leaving a bit so we could try and get 'Anne' right. She had not been able to capture that same magic that had occurred that night in Chicago. She knew that getting it exact was impossible due to all of the emotions that had gone into the original, but Faith said that she had an idea that would get it close.

After dinner, Dawn and I went for a walk, just enjoying the sunset and each other's company.

"What's the longest relationship you've ever had" she asked out of the blue.

"Other than this one?"

"Yeah."

I thought for a second "twenty minutes."

"Twenty minutes?"

"Rhonda Flemming in sixth grade. A group of us were playing spin the bottle, and she and I kept aiming for each other. It lasted about twenty minutes until she got too enthusiastic and had to kiss someone else. Afterwards, she and Ritchie Anderson aimed for each other, and I was heartbroken. That's the sum total of my romantic past."

"But you've been around Faith quite a bit; you mean you never had . . . feelings for her?"

"Nope, I saw her as a friend, colleague, sister, but I've never entertained romantic thoughts about her."

"Why not, don't you think she's pretty?"

"Yeah, I think she's beautiful, it's just that I never thought of her that way."

"So, why me; I mean she and I are practically sisters in appearance."

"Yeah, you're close; I can't explain it, I saw you and just knew."

"Immediately?"

"Yeah, you opened the door and it just hit me; you were the one. And it's not because you're beautiful and smart and caring; I guess it's because you complete me. It's like that movie that you love, 'Pleasantville'; I was in black and white until I met you, and then suddenly I'm in color, and so is the whole world,"

She looked a bit shocked to hear me say these things. Honestly I'm surprised that we hadn't had this talk sooner, but it had never seemed necessary. "That's lovely, but now I feel bad."

"Why?"

"Well, you fell in love with me the minute you saw me, I didn't love you instantly."

"OK, so how long did it take?"

"It was on our way back from the church; those bringers attacked and you handed me a knife and trusted me to guard your back. You didn't hesitate, you just trusted me with no reservations and I knew. I mean I had been falling for you, but that just put it over the edge."

We fell silent, continuing to hold hands and just walk. There were some insistent thought buzzing around in my head. 'Where do we go from here', 'should I push the relationship farther than it already was', 'was it even possible to have something permanent with her'? I had never thought about those questions because, quite frankly, I had not believed that I would live to see twenty. Not to mention the possibility of seeing it with someone I cared about. When I became a Seraph, I had resigned myself to loving all of mankind; I had not expected that love to become so focused and personal. The more I thought about it, the more I came to realize just how remarkable my life had been up to now. I had friends, a purpose and someone to share it with. Sadly, though, I also knew that my life expectancy was not great and that fact made the possibility of commitment difficult at best. I loved Dawn, and she loved me, did we need to do anything to make it more real or more true?

"Hey stranger" she said "where are you?"

"Just thinkin' me thinks" I answered.

And with those restless thoughts in my head, we went to bed. We were rolled out of bed at 3AM. Surprisingly it was Buffy and not Faith that woke us up. At first we thought it was some emergency; but Buffy told us it was just time to record. Not bothering to put much on, we staggered over to the studio. It was darn near pitch black in there. Just a bit of indirect lighting and the lamp above the mixing board was the only illumination. The girls made their way to the backing mike while I found my guitar. I had an easier time than most; I play a Fender Telecaster that's all white (of course), so it stood out a bit in the gloom. I made sure I was plugged in and in tune while the rest of the band was doing the same. I looked up and the sound tech from Virgin was with Willy at the board; and surprisingly so was the Bennet chick, the scout for the record company. The sound guy flicked a switch and said "Anne, take 1"

We all kind of looked at each other for a second because Faith wasn't there; but Whistler just shrugged and started off. It was as sad and forlorn a tune as I remembered. Suddenly Faith's voice was ringing our over the studio speakers. Obviously she was in the studio, but isolated from the rest of us. Oz and the others had followed Whistler, and I, like the first time, was adding punctuation wherever it seemed to fit. It did not totally recapture the emotional punch of the first performance but it still had quite an impact. The more I played, the more it felt like my heart was being torn from my body. The last note faded away, and Willy just hit the house mike and said "that'll do". He had to talk because both the sound guy and Leah were crying too hard; I guess we got it right enough.

Then the lights came up and Faith sauntered up from where she had been hiding, a satisfied smirk on her face. I guess she got the sound she had been after. With very few words exchanged we headed back to our beds. After something like that, it was hard for me to sleep; so I just lay there and held Dawn through the rest of the night. She woke back up at 8 AM, so we got dressed and went back to work.

It was a fairly eventful time. We ran into Daniel while guarding a hospital in an African country undergoing a rather painful revolution. Daniel was functioning as one of the doctors. There was a kidnapping by some crazed 'freedom fighters' in Central America. It turned out that these yahoos were working for some warlock that was trying to help them by summoning demons to fight for them. We hunted vamps in places where there was no slayer; we bagged the odd demon or two. In other words, it was a pretty typical month and a half for us. Around the equinox, we had to deal with all the Druids and other nature worshipers that came out of the woodwork. Most of them are harmless and actually quite pleasant, but you still have the fringe element that thinks human sacrifice is still the way to go. We worked steadily and happily, caring for the world and each other, busy but not swamped, when April 1 (Pagan New Year) came along.


	4. Passion and Warfare

HOW LIKE A FALLEN ANGEL – CHAPTER 4

We had spent the night in a seedy little motel outside of Rome, New York. Word had come down that something bad was going to happen. I realize how lame that sounds, I mean, bad things happen all the time; right. But you need to understand that the scale we use is probably different than most people. So to us, bad equates to unimaginably evil and horrific. Be that as it may, I really hate vague instructions; we had no idea what to look for or plan for. We were flying blind. So we prepped a couple of extra cylinders each for our revolvers, but other than that, we just went with our usual rig. We did a sweep early in the day, looking for evidence of mystical or demonic activity. We sensed a few things, but nothing definite or serious enough to warrant attention. We were forced to play 'Hardy Boys' all day, trying to figure out what was coming down. Unfortunately we came up with nothing and had settled in about seven in the evening for a burger at the local diner.

We were nearly done, so it was about eight PM when we felt a flare of power; someone was summoning a demon. We both realized our mistake at the same time. It wasn't one big bad, it was a bunch of little bads, working together. They were in the woods, west of town, and area that had tweaked our senses earlier, but as I said, there was nothing definite. We left the diner and found a quite ally and jumped to the woods. When we had figured out where we were, we started moving towards the group of people and the demon. I thought that there was a female presence, but I could not be sure and even if there was, I didn't know if she was a willing participant or sacrifice. We were moving fast, but definitely in serious stealth mode, but somehow they saw us anyway, because they started shooting. I looked around the tree that I was using for cover and ahead I could see a clearing, an altar and several men. I extended my senses and could tell that there were five men near the altar and another ten that seemed to be functioning as guards. One was close to me, so I dashed out and cut through his chest as I ran from my tree to another. He still managed to get out a shriek and that brought al of the guards running towards us. I opened up a channel to Dawn:

'Any ideas?'

'One, but it sucks.'

'I'm listening'

'I draw all the guards to me, you go in and save the girl; then hit em from the rear if there are any left.'

'You're right, that does suck.'

'You got anything better?'

'Role reversal?'

'Nope, you can teleport and I can't, you're better with demons than me, and I'm a better shot than you.'

'I hate it when you're right.'

I popped back to her; we had our senses up, and could feel the remaining guards coming. Unfortunately, a bad situation got worse when a couple of them opened fire. It was way too close for random shooting and way to dark to be aimed, unless they had night vision devices. Dawn started swearing like a sailor with a hangover, and we dashed back from cover to cover, using our superior speed to keep us safe for now. I must confess; I was a bit surprised. Groups that are into demon summoning, using magic and the like have an almost pathological disdain for modern weapons and devices; but these clowns just bristled with contemporary gadgetry. At last, all of the guards were between us and the altar. I handed Dawn my pistol and three prepared cylinders. Giving her a quick kiss, I said "keep safe".

"As much as you will" she answered. She was looking at me, and her eyes were wild, a sneer much like Faith's on her lips. I wondered if Buffy had ever seen he sister like this, craving battle, aching for the conflict, ready and eager to kill. It was both beautiful and terrible to see.

"Love you" we said at the same time, and I popped in behind the guards and Dawn opened up.

I was within five feet of the chanters; they appeared to be keeping up a containment spell. The spell was for a demon that was raping a girl who was currently tied to an altar. The symbols on the altar were definitely not Christian. Her horrified screams kicked the idea that she was a willing participant right out the window. I realized that I had to be quick. If the demon finished with the girl, I was sure she would be pregnant, and what was in her would kill her when it was born. I suppose that this was some sort of half baked coven, hoping to use the half demon result as a willing power node. Well, time to shut it down. My swords were in my hands, and I was moving before the chanters even knew that I was there. With no subtlety at all, I ran my swords through the two closest of the five, the speed and power of my strikes hammering the life out of their bodies. I tore my swords from their corpses and kept moving. A spray of blood from one of my first victims had blinded another chanter, so he didn't see my sword as it cut his throat. In the background I could hear the occasional stutter of automatic fire, punctuated by the booming roar of the Colts. Number four was reaching for something in his robes, when my right hand sword ripped his chest open as I slashed him from his left shoulder to his right hip. A part of me noticed that I had also severed a hand with and odd device in it, but I didn't spare it much thought. The last had managed to get a pistol clear of his robes. Without even thinking, I clipped through his right fore-arm with my left hand sword. His muscles convulsed when they were severed and s single shot rang out. I felt a burning sensation in my right calf, but it didn't slow me down. He was just looking at his severed hand on the ground, as though trying to rationalize what he was seeing when my right hand sword thrust through his head. For an instant, I could hear gunfire continuing from the woods, and then I turned my attention to the demon. Surprisingly the demon had also turned its attention to me. I didn't know if that meant he had impregnated the girl or if he just wanted to fight; worry about that later. I ran at him and stuck both my swords into his chest; and nothing happened. That was my first surprise; the second was a sudden burning sensation in my chest and abdomen, followed by a very feminine scream from the woods. 'Oh God' I thought, 'Dawn's been shot'.

The demon didn't give me much of a chance to think, it was on me while I stood there stunned. The next thing I knew was that I was flying backwards and that my jaw was killing me. Hitting the ground knocked a little sense back into me. One, I could still feel Dawn, so she wasn't dead, and two, I was facing an Alvorian demon, and metal didn't effect them. Being in a bit of a hurry, I pulled Gabriel's dagger from its place in my duster, and rammed it into the demons chest. Since it was a heavenly weapon, it was not really metal, and the demon could feel this. It pulled back its arms to strike, so I flared my power through the dagger and liquefied its innards. The demon froze with a bit of a surprised look on its face. It wasn't sure what had just happened but was fairly confident that it wasn't good. I picked up my swords from the ground where the demon had thrown them and freed the girl from the altar; fortunately she had passed out. All the time the thought 'Dawn's been shot' was echoing through my mind. It made it a bit hard to concentrate. I looked down at the girl I we had just saved. She looked to be about fourteen, with blond hair and braces. I did a quick scan and was relieved to find that the demon had not left anything unpleasant in her. I put my weapons away and picked her up; then I turned and sprinted back to help Dawn. I could feel her agony; it was coming off her in waves and nearly knocking me to the ground. I could feel her, and I could feel one other who was still alive. She came out from between two trees, one pistol still cocked and in her right hand; her left arm was pressed tight across her middle, as though she was trying to keep the pain inside. All the blood scared me, but what was worse was the look on her face, like she had reverted to being that frightened sixteen year old that I had first met, as though she couldn't understand what had happened. I simply dropped the girl and ran towards her, when I saw the last guard. 'Behind you' I screamed in her mind, showing her where the threat was. She spun, dropped and fired in one fluid motion. Her slug entered the jerks mouth and blew both his functional brain cells out the back of his head. As he was falling his finger convulsed on the trigger of his Uzi; I felt a tearing sensation in my shoulder, and Dawn's head snapped back and she went down hard. I could no longer feel her or my left arm. I dropped down next to her and realized that the bullet had creased her skull, but not penetrated; she was injured but still alive. I was losing power fast due to my wounds, so I put in a call to either Janice or Daniel for help. I was stunned when I got back two answers of flat out no. Not knowing what else to do, I tried contacting a higher power, and again my efforts were rebuffed. For some reason, I was on my own. I wanted to use all my power to heal Dawn, but the girl also had very real injuries both physical and mental. I couldn't heal them both, the girl was our mission, but Dawn had been shot. I wavered, knowing what I should do and what I wanted to do. This girl was an innocent victim of evil, but Dawn had been shot. She had no say in what happened to her, but Dawn had been shot. I had to heal her, but Dawn had been shot.

Reluctantly, but knowing it was the right thing to do, I healed the girl as best I could. I plunged into her mind and soothed as much of the trauma as I was able, I repaired the damage the demon had done to her body, and then I made her sleep. Finally I turned back to Dawn. I stopped the bleeding from the two bullet wounds in her chest and gut, but I didn't have enough power to truly heal her. I decided to catch the express back to Spain and let Dr. Bement take over. I grabbed both girls, and prepared to go, but then I realized that I didn't even have enough power left for that. Understanding that I had no choice; I pushed the dials to overload, and went anyway.


	5. Strange Days

HOW LIKE A FALLEN ANGEL – CHAPTER 5

We popped right into the medical center. I was instantly screaming for Dr. Bement or anyone to help me. Even though it was three AM, the doctor was there in under a minute. The fuzzy slippers were a bit silly looking, but at the time I wouldn't have cared if she was wearing a hula skirt.

"She has three bullet wounds, lower left chest, upper right abdomen and a crease above the right eye." I said this as I shoved Dawn into her arms. I indicated the girl, "I've taken care of her physical trauma, and she should be asleep for about forty-eight hours. Where can I put her so she's out of the way?"

The doctor waved at a room off to the side; she did this as she was shouting orders at her two nurses, telling one to prep the OR and another to help stabilize the patient. As I gathered the girl up and was headed for the room, I heard one of the nurses ask if she should get Buffy. That was one confrontation that I wasn't looking forward to. Once in the room, I put a gown on the girl and put her in the bed and tucked her in. God, she looked so peaceful, so serene. I left her room, closed the door and pulled a chair up next to it. I sat down, grateful for the rest, and promptly passed out.

Snippets of conversation washed over me, fading in and out; like I was listening to a weak signal on a broken radio.

'Does anyone know what happened?'

'Can Willow help?'

'Has he said anything?'

'Who's this other girl?'

'How is he?'

Finally a hand was shaking me; "Ian, wake up Ian."

My eyes slowly drifted up to the doctor's, I was afraid to see what was there, but I had to know "how is she?"

"She's weak, she lost a lot of blood, that's been replaced and she's been treated for infection. She had a concussion from the head wound, and part of her left lung was damaged, but neither of these are life threatening. The other shot damaged her liver, and that's tricky. In a situation like this, the liver will either resume functioning or shut down; if it starts back up, she'll live, if not . . . ." she faded to silence.

"How long until you know?"

"Within twenty four hours."

"Is there anything anyone can do, myself, Willow, anyone?"

"Just wait and pray that's all."

I just nodded and she walked away. After a bit of time, I'm really not sure how long it was, Buffy was there asking me what had happened. I told her every detail, wanting her to scream at me, hit me, anything to help assuage the guilt that was in me. Instead, she asked to see the girl. I took her to where she was. She was still asleep, peaceful, angelic, and for a second I hated her. She would live, while Dawn might die; her life sacrificed for a person who would never know that Dawn Summers had ever existed. I shook off my anger as unfair, and after asking Buffy to stay and make sure I didn't fall, I went into her mind to see how she had gotten to where she had been, and who she was.

It was incredibly draining, but it was something I had to do. I almost cried, she was a true innocent; kidnapped from a suburb on the south side of Buffalo, offered up by these swine as an appeasement to a demon. Grace Adams was her name; she wanted to be an engineer when she grew up. I came to myself and asked Buffy to contact her parents. "Just say that she is alive and she'll be back in a day or two."

"You sure" she asked.

I just slumped and nodded, unable to find anymore words.

It was ten in the morning, seventeen hours till we would know for sure. I sat back down in my chair and waited; not wanting to move and reminding myself to breathe every now and again. People would come in and out, occasionally they would try to talk, but I was lost in my mind; remembering Dawn in the thousands of ways that I did; her smile and laugh, her courage and compassion, her beauty and toughness. Again, bits of conversation washed around me, but I just sat and remembered her.

'I tried talking but he just sat there like a rock. God, I just wanted to pound him, just to produce a response.'

'He'd probably just thank you for that B; I doubt he'd even try to defend himself.'

'Does he respond to anything?'

'Oh yeah; just ask him to leave for a while, you'll get a response.'

'Really'

'A couple hours ago, I just suggested we go for a walk or something. You know lets get some fresh air, that kind of thing. And then he turned and looked at me.'

'He just looked at you?'

'Yeah, I know how it sounds, after all we're talking about Ian right, this sweet, gentle guy. I keep forgetting how truly powerful he really is; anyway all he did was look at me, but let me tell you B, I'd rather deal with the First again then have him look at me the way he did.'

'Just from a look?'

'It was like looking through a door into the heart of Hell.'

'Do you think he's dangerous?'

'Hell yes, if your sis dies, he'll make what Willow did will look like penny ante stuff. I really don't want to be around to see that.'

'What would he do?'

'I don't think he knows and right now, I don't think he cares.'

An hour after that, I felt two flares; my fellow Seraph had arrived. I didn't want to see them, but I had to. I waited at the door to the medical area. I could feel them approach, and knew that they were a bit afraid; I could understand their trepidation. The came up, but before they could say anything, I spoke.

"I do not hold what has happened against you; right now all anyone can do is wait to see if she lives or dies. I want you both to know that I will always be there for you, no matter what. Even if I have to bend or ignore the rules, you can call on me at anytime for anything, if you need my life, you have but to ask. I will never let you down; but I will never forget that I am the only one of us that can say that." I began to close the door and muttered "your help is not needed for this assignment, go away." I finished closing the door in their faces. I felt their distress and pain, but I didn't care. Right now, Dawn was all that mattered. I sat back in my chair, and taking Dr. Bement's advice, prayed

As I was sitting, I became aware of a feeling stealing over my mind, a calm being forced upon me. I knew that Willow was trying to help, but I was not in the mood for such ministrations. I broke the spell, not violently, but emphatically enough to make sure she got the message that it was unwanted. I just sat back and lost myself in remembering. At seven that night, the doctor came in. I took her a bit to shake me from my reverie.

"I just told her sister, and I wanted to tell you; her blood work came back normal, she's going to be just fine.

I slumped forward, babbling my thanks to her to God to anyone listening for that news. The doctor was trying to slip away, but I stopped her. Two thing doctor; one, I can never thank you enough for what you have done; tow; could you please see to my shoulder, the pain is considerable and I believe that the bullet is still there and I cannot heal if it is." I stripped away my coat and shirt, displaying the ugly wound; Buffy was just coming out of Dawn's room when I collapsed into her arms.

When I woke up, it was Faith and not Buffy that was with me. "You know Ian, for a smart guy, you can really be a dumbass."

"Thanks" I said "with positive talk like that, I'll be up in no time."

"I'm serious" she said "how is waiting on treatment gonna help anything?"

"Well, up until I passed out, I really didn't care if I got better or not."

"You never struck me as suicidal."

"Guilt can do that."

"What's given you such an attack of the guilts?"

In response, I got out of bed. I could feel that my shoulder was healing nicely, and motioned for Faith to follow me. "This is Grace Adams" I told Faith. "I had to make a choice; heal her or heal Dawn. Duty or Love in other words; and I chose duty, and now I despise myself for it. Dawn almost died because of my devotion to duty. Look at her, pure, innocent, she wants to be an engineer and design space stations, she loves her parents and has a Black Labrador Retriever named Creosote; and I was a second away from sacrificing her life, because Dawn was hurt. I know I would have hated myself if she had died, but I know I also hate myself for letting Dawn suffer. I guess I'm just screwed either way."

"You've had hours to re-think what happened, would you have done anything different, is there something that you forgot or didn't do that caused this?"

"No, I mean, intellectually I know you're right, but emotionally I just can't buy it."

"Yet"

"I hope."

"Anything else?"

"Yeah, actually, I'm gonna wake her up and explain what happened, then we need to take her back to her parents, I could really use your help,"

"Why"

"Well, because if the questions get too tricky, I can't lie; and it would be handy to have someone around who could. That and when I wake her up, having just a guy there isn't a good idea."

"OK, count me in."

"Oh, and Faith"

"Yeah"

"Sorry I scared you earlier, I was a bit stressed."

She gave a little smile, "I guess we all have our bad days."

Together, and with our friendship intact, we began to wake up Grace.

Faith reached out and gave her shoulder a little shake. She came instantly awake and bolted upright in the bed "where am I, who are you two"?

"In a safe place" Faith answered, "my name is Faith and this is Ian, we've been taking care of you for a couple of days; can you tell us what you remember."

Her brow creased "I remember walking home from the Library and . . . . I think someone hit me, and then it gets jumbled, the woods, and a fire and people talking a lot, and I think I heard shooting, and then I'm here, wherever that is."

"This is a place for taking care of people, and you needed taking care of" I answered. "Grace, I want you to listen, you were attacked and kidnapped by people who we demon worshipers; they did things to you that you don't remember right now. But what's important is that nothing was your fault. You didn't do anything that caused this, you aren't a bad person or evil or being punished; it's like you were struck by lightning, it just happened. It's easy to think that it's your fault, but I want you to remember that it isn't. You'll start to remember details over time, but you must promise to remember that it wasn't your fault. The people who did this are already being punished, so you never have to worry about them again; you just need to concentrate on getting better."

It was painful to watch the emotions flicker across her face, anger, disbelief and despair, but I pushed a little bit of myself into her mind and was pleased to see resolve there.

"If you will excuse me, I need to make some calls, so I'll leave you with Faith for now, and then we'll see about getting you home."

I hoped that I hadn't hit her with too much, but I trusted Faith to help the young girl deal with what had occurred. I called Father McLaren in Buffalo so that he would be prepared if she needed counseling and I called the girls parents, assuring them that she would be home safe later today. They were grateful, but a little unsure about what was going on. I was worried about police involvement, that could be awkward, but I had a couple of ideas on how to avoid it. I promised to explain everything when we arrived. I looked in, and Grace was telling Faith about her dog, and Faith was telling her about the silly things that Annie had done lately. Leaving them to it, I went to see Dawn.


	6. How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb

HOW LIKE A FALLEN ANGEL – CHAPTER 6

She was sitting up in bed, looking pale and a little drawn; but she had never looked more beautiful to my eyes. She was talking quietly with Buffy when I walked in. Immediately her face lit up when she saw me, but I must admit that Buffy looked less than happy. "How are you, Bella Alba" I asked.

She blushed a bit at her pet name, but answered 'better than I was, thanks".

I just stood there, not quite knowing what to say; "I'm sorry" I finally managed.

"Why"

"I could have healed you, but I took care of Grace instead."

"You did what you should have done, she didn't make a choice, I did."

"True but because of my choice you nearly died and you still hurt. I know I did the right thing, I'm just having trouble believing that it really was the right thing." I looked at her arm, leg, torso, anywhere but her eyes; I just couldn't face them.

She took my hand, forcing me to look at her face "I wish I knew some way to convince you that it was, it's the choice I would have made." She shifted in bed and a look of pain flitted across her features.

Concerned, I moved closer to her; "do you want me to help out with that?"

She just nodded.

I moved to her side and extended my hands over her body; exerting my power and clearing the energy flow around her wounds. She stiffened for just a second, but then settled back with a sigh as the pain eased. I was glad that I could do this for her; I just hoped that dealing with my guilt would be this easy. I looked down at her radiant face, "better now" I asked.

"Yeah" she answered quietly.

I was falling into her eyes and I felt all of my control disintegrating. I was fighting for breath, and the tears were pouring. I lay down on the bed with her, my arms encircling her upper body, my head resting on her left shoulder. I could barely see through my tears, and my voice was clotted and thick with emotion. "I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't made it."

"You would have been OK."

"No, I really don't believe that; I don't think I could ever be OK in a world without you in it. I don't even know if I would be capable of making the same decision again."

"You'd better not mean that."

I pulled back a bit, surprised. "Why, you're the world to me; my heart would be shattered beyond redemption if you were lost."

She looked hurt; "that's too much responsibility for me."

I was incredulous, "what".

She thought for a moment; "would you give me your swords?"

"Sure"

"Your pistol and dagger as well?"

"In an instant."

"All of your powers and abilities?"

"What, why?"

"So that I could be sure you are always safe. In order to keep you as safe as possible, I'd have to control every part of your life; have control of every weapon and all the power."

I started to reply, but then her meaning began to dawn on me so I wisely kept my mouth shut.

She smiled sweetly, "this life is mine, and the choices are mine and the risks are mine. Promise me that you'll never place the welfare of others below my safety or ask me to not live my life in the name of security. For better or worse, this is my life, no one elses, and you've taught me to value it too highly to give it's keeping to anyone, even someone I love."

I nodded once to promise and then just held her tight, running my fingers through her long hair. "Did I ever mention how insanely lucky I was to find you?"

"Oh, you may have hinted at it once or twice." She giggled a bit as she couldn't hold a straight face any longer.

I cupped her chin in my hand and looked deep into her eyes; "you are everything that makes this existence worth-while, I just wish that I could adequately convey how much I love you."

I wrapped her in a mental embrace, pouring all of my love and affection and admiration into her, finding the feelings because I could never find the words. She returned it, surrounding me with her feelings. It was a moment of absolute joy.

Suddenly I felt her stiffen; "Ian, what's wrong?"

"What do you mean?"

"Part of you isn't there."

"Oh" I said, understanding what she was sensing "I needed a bit of power."

"So you gave up almost six years of memories for me?" She looked upset that I had gone to such extremes, but I touched her lips with my finger and quieted her before she could continue.

"It was my choice to do so, and I would gladly do it again."

She looked surprised, but not unhappy. I leaned in and we shared a brief, delicious kiss. Just then, Faith popped her head into the room. "Uh, I hate to break this up, but we need to get Grace home soon Ian."

I just nodded, not taking my eyes off Dawn, and then; reluctantly, I turned and went back to work.

INTERLUDE

"Thanks for cluing me in Buffy."

"No problem, just part of the big sister contract. I gotta give you credit, I thought you'd tear him a new one."

"I might have, if you hadn't warned me."

"I was impressed, you held it together great."

"Because I listened, not just to what he said, but to how he said it. I gotta admit he can be the most frustrating person on the face of the earth. He's blunt, tactless and brutally honest; there are times I just want to punch his lights out. But then, he's so totally open and trusting, he will open up his heart without considering the cost to himself, because he always places others before himself. I tell you what Buffy; the only thing I couldn't live without is him. God, I've got it bad."

"I'd say it's mutual."

"You say that as though you're surprised."

"I guess in a way, I am. I mean, I never doubted that he loved you; I just always wondered how much he could love you. Being what he is and the priorities he has, I was just never sure how deep it ran. But then I saw him when he brought you in. It was scary you know, I've never seen someone hurt the way he did. I've had my share of heartbreak; don't get me wrong, but all those were minor league compared to this. Both Faith and I were worried about what would happen if you died. We were talking about evacuating, and we were serious."

"Faith was worried?"

"No, she was scared spitless."

"You were afraid he would kill himself or anyone else?"

"We really had no idea what would happen, we thought anything was a possibility, from suicide to mass murder. Just being close to that depth of hurt opened my eyes."

"To what?"

"Seeing how much he loved you and you loved him, I couldn't allow that to be lost because either one of you forgot that, even for a moment. So, I played 'Buffy, relationship guru' and made sure you understood how he had been, so you wouldn't over-react before you calmed down and started thinking."

Dawn started to say something, but realized that Buffy was just stating the plain truth. She did fly off the handle before really thinking about everything, and it had hurt people on more than one occasion. "Thanks for looking out for me."

"Like I said, all part of the big sister contract; now you get better or I'll tell Faith that you want to spar with her 'cause she's a big wussy."

"Meanie"

"True, but you love it."

"No, I love you, thanks."

"You're welcome."


	7. Recovering the Satellites

HOW LIKE A FALLEN ANGEL – CHAPTER 7

Faith had gotten Grace dressed and ready while I was talking to Dawn. "Are you ready to go" I asked.

She nodded and I pushed a bit of my essence into her. Her eyes rolled back in her head and she collapsed. Faith caught her; slayer reflexes, and gave me an angry glare, "What the hell, Ian?"

"She couldn't handle the idea that we are in Spain right now or that we can travel from Spain to New York in under ten minutes. When we arrive, we'll wake her up and take her home."

I could tell that Faith didn't like the idea of causing further trauma, but she didn't continue to complain either. Personally, I was worried about official involvement from the Police and the FBI. We really didn't need them looking into the whole slayer thing, let alone having to deal with something like me.

I grabbed hold of both of them and we were on our way back to New York.

We came to ourselves in a backyard in a fairly upper-class suburb. Faith and I checked out the area, and it looked as though no-one had seen us arrive. Looking around the front, I saw several official type cars down the street; I assumed that they were near Grace's house. Faith and I made sure we had our proper ID, and moved Grace out to the front walk. I told Faith that she would have to make up a story to explain how we got there.

"Why not you?"

"Because as much as I would like to at times, I can't lie; and not to sound too corny, but she can't handle the truth."

Faith just nodded, and then; gently, more gently than I would have believed, Faith brought Grace around. "Hey kid, sleepy times over".

Grace looked around, confused "how did we get here?"

"You're kidding, right. You don't remember the hospital, the taxi ride, wanting to get out a little early so you could think about how to make your parents believe you really don't remember what exactly happened."

Grace just looked flummoxed, but went along with Faith's implied story.

Slowly we walked down the street towards her house. "How am I gonna get 'em to believe all of that?"

"Just leave that to Ian" Faith said "he's way convincing."

Grace looked at me, a bit surprised. I just nodded and gave a little grin. Faith had done a brilliant job of defining our roles without saying anything specific. She was the caregiver and I was the bureaucrat.

Suddenly a shout of "FREEZE" rang out. Grace looked scared as Faith and I moved to protect her. I was hoping that these officers were not that trigger happy.

A young man came up and identified himself as Agent Morris of the FBI. "We've got a few questions for you."

"Take a look at this" I said as I passed him our IDs "I don't believe we'll be answering anything or going anywhere with you"

The two ID's gave only our first names and identified us a Vatican special envoy's a level of diplomat that cannot ever be questioned or detained.

"I'll have to check this out" he said.

"Please feel free, but we are going to return this girl to her family while you check us out."

With that less than pleasant exchange, we just walked up and knocked on the door.

A woman, about forty with strawberry blond hair, nearly tore the door apart getting it open. She and her husband surrounded Grace and were making it clear that they loved her. Faith and I just stood there, agent Morris behind us, none of us wanted to intrude, but we were not finished yet. Finally the father looked up at us and said "please come in."

We did and introduced ourselves as Vatican employees. This surprised them a bit, and I could see the questions beginning to form. I asked Grace to introduce Faith to Creosote in the back yard.

When they were gone, I turned to the parents; well aware that agent Morris was taking notes. "Your daughter was kidnapped by a group of Satanists living in the Rome area. We do not believe that there were any mitigating circumstances for them taking her; she was simply a target of opportunity. They were performing a ceremony involving multiple rapes and eventually in her death when my partner and I arrived. We stopped it and took your daughter to a safe location. Right now she doesn't remember exactly what happened, but she will in time. I could suggest a good therapist in the area, but I think it would be best if you go see Father McLaren at St. Thomas'. He is a Jesuit Father and was a psychiatrist before he joined the church. I have spoken to him; he knows Grace's circumstances and has had experience with this kind of thing before. He will not be surprised by your call. I know that you aren't Catholic, but it will not make a difference to him, and he won't try to convert her or anything. If you take her to someone else, please have them call the Father, so he can fill in the story that she doesn't yet remember."

It was a heck of a lot to drop on them at once. Truth be told, they handled it well. It took a minute or two, but eventually the questions started flying.

"Is there any chance she's pregnant?"

"None"

"The men responsible?"

"Dead, although we only told Grace that they had been punished."

This stopped them for a second; "you mean you killed them all?"

"My partner and I, yes."

"You realize that you've just confessed to murder" agent Morris asked.

"Fifteen counts actually" giving agent Morris confirmation of my involvement; "if I was a US citizen I guess I'd worry, but I'm with the Vatican, diplomatic immunity, etc. Besides, they shot first."

After a few more technical questions from agent Morris, the parents asked the big one; "will our daughter be OK?"

"She's a strong, resilient girl, Mr. and Mrs. Adams; with some help and a lot of support from both of you, she'll recover fully. If you ever need anything, Father McLaren will know how to get hold of either Faith or myself." I stood as Faith and Grace came back inside; "goodbye and good luck to you all." They saw us to the door, and we left. Needless to say, agent Morris came with us.

"OK, fifteen bodies were found in some woods outside of Rome; you're saying that you and her did all that?"

"No, Faith was not with me at that time, she's here because she was caring for Grace after she was rescued. My partner was wounded and is now recovering."

"How did they die?"

"Six from a blade and nine by gunshot, although bullets were not used; silver slugs were."

Agent Morris's eyes went wide "Shit, you really were there."

"I told you I was, now if there is nothing else."

"No, your status checked out, I can't hold you or even ask questions, so you both are free to go."

"Thank you agent" I said as we turned and began walking away.

I was looking for a place to leave from when Faith asked "did they ever thank you for saving her?"

"No, and that's not unusual."

"That would really piss me off."

"Yeah, but what can you do, withhold what they need."

"I don't know it just seems rude."

"Yeah, but the way I look at it is that they care more about their kid than our feelings, and that's how it should be."

"I suppose"

"Thank, by the way, you wee great with her."

"Hey, she's a great girl."

I had found a little service drive that was way overgrown. "Come on" I said nodding at the road "let's get home."

She just smiled and I took her hand and we went back to Spain.

When we got there, I said goodbye to Faith and went looking for someone I needed to apologize to.

I found her sitting under a tree, looking contemplative.

I cleared by throat and she looked up. "If I'm one too many, just say so."

"No" she answered "have a seat".

"I just wanted to apologize for earlier, you know, breaking the spell and all; I didn't hurt you did I?"

"No, but you gave Jenny quite a shock, she was assisting and had never seen something like that."

"Not permanently traumatized is she?"

"No, but she had me built up in her mind as this Glenda the Good, mega wicca; so it was surprising to her to see someone break a spell of mine. I guess it took me off a pedestal."

"Sorry, I just didn't want what you were doing at that time. I understand why and even appreciate the effort, but I didn't want my feelings blunted. And I'm sorry you're not on your student's pedestal any more."

"Don't be, pedestals aren't very comfortable; they hurt your feet and all."

"How's her training coming?"

"Good, she's gonna be way formidable real soon."

"But you look like you aren't thrilled about that."

"No, I'm thrilled about that, just chock full of thrillage; but, well, there's something else."

"Anything I can do, I'm a pretty good listener; I can even offer advice if you want, but mostly I just rub my chin and look smart and nod."

"Well, she came on to me."

"And this is a problem because. . . . . it disrupts the teacher student relationship?"

"No, because I wasn't interested."

"And that's a problem why; 'cause she wont take no for an answer?"

"No, not that, I mean it's been a while since Ken or anyone else, and she's cute and all, and nothing like Tara or anyone past, I feel like I should, but I didn't, and I can't figure out why I didn't because before she said anything I kinda wanted to. But then she asked and I said no."

"Maybe you're just being responsible?"

"That could be it, but I don't think so, I mean, we're pretty good about being in touch with our feelings and each other and all, so it wouldn't be that big a stretch to be having a few extra tutorials if you know what I mean, but I said no."

"Someone else?"

"I'm not sure about that either, there could be, but it's not what I expected; it's kinda doomed but that doesn't seem to matter."

I thought for a second, and then realized what was going on. "So, you're in love with Oz, but can't reconcile that with your same sex preferences."

"No, of course not; how could you even suggest that I might, I mean really; I, just. . . . . . yeah, that's pretty much it."

"Well, I gotta admit I'm surprised."

"Really"

"Yeah, I'm surprised that you would get so hung up on labels; I'm gay, I'm straight, whatever. You love who you love, that's it."

"So you think it's possible?"

"The question is do you think it's possible. Remember what a wise man once said 'love is giving everything away without any guarantee of getting anything back'. If you don't think you're ready for it, don't try; but if you think that Oz is worth that kind of risk, then what's holding you back?"

"Fear, I guess; it's risky."

"That's life"

"True enough, hey which wise man said that anyway?"

I stood and brushed my clothes off, "me" I said; and left her to her thoughts.


	8. Under a Blood Red Sky

HOW LIKE A FALLEN ANGEL – CHAPTER 8

The next day, Dawn was up and moving. She had some trouble with twisting her body, but she was remarkably pain free. We started out with a light warm-up and then sparred for about half an hour. She moved pretty well, but her stamina had taken quite a hit. This meant that as soon as she was able, running was on the agenda. Till then we worked out with what we could. I realized that I was kind of walking on eggshells around her. I felt wrong, like all that had happened was my fault, and I didn't know what to do to fix it. Our relationship had always been; I guess serene is the best word; but now tension was everywhere. I guess I just needed to get my head out of my backside. Talking to Buffy really helped. She told me some of her past encounters with Dawn and told me to go head on; that subtlety would be wasted, and even despised. So, I took her advice. We were working on some basic Kendo moves, but I kept having to correct her; which was unusual, I finally stopped the lesson.

"What's the matter, this isn't like you?"

"Just nervous I guess."

"Nervous"

"Well, maybe scared is a better word."

"Of what?"

She looked right in my eyes; hesitated for a second, then said "that you won't trust me anymore."

"Why wouldn't I trust you?"

"Because I was hurt, I don't know, because I'm not a hundred percent; because I feel like I failed somehow. I'm afraid you'll decide that you're better off alone, and I couldn't handle that."

The honesty that we shared was very much a two edged sword. Just because we knew that both of us would be honest, didn't mean that we would like what we heard. It might not be pleasant, just the truth. She was exposing her deepest fears, inadequacy and abandonment; and as much as I could do to demonstrate that those notions were absurd, they would always be with her. Because she grew up with a slayer and witches and other supernatural creatures she would always feel inadequate. And she had been abandoned several times by people who were caring for her, Buffy, her Mom, Tara and even Spike; and while it's true that in most cases the abandonment was due to death, that doesn't mitigate the pain. I did the only thing I could think of and just hugged her and told her the simple truth. "I would never be better off alone; you complete me in a way that no-one or nothing else can. You have my heart in your keeping; I couldn't leave that and remain alive. I love you, Dawn Summers, I love everything that you do and that you are; with everything that I have, I always will."

She held me, just held me; and I allowed the depth of my love to wash over her. I knew that this is what she needed, the unconditional assurance that I would only be parted from her in death. I don't know how long we stood there, it was forever, and just a second or two; but when we parted, she looked much more like the old Dawn.

We parted and she turned to pick up her practice sword. I took the opportunity to whack her across her butt with my own practice blade. She turned with an outraged look, and then laughing, attacked me.

We sparred for another half hour, I could tell that she was pushing it through some pain, and though doctor Bement might not approve, I wasn't going to stop her. When we finally got done, I used my power to ease her pain and relax her muscles. We cleaned up the room, and on her way out, Dawn looked flirtatiously over her shoulder and asked "wanna catch a shower?"

Who was I to say no to an offer like that?

After a week or so, Dawn was again ready for the field. I had handled a few emergencies over that time, and each one felt wrong. I would reach out for her with my mind, and she wouldn't be there. When I was fighting, I would move like she was there to watch my back. It nearly got me in trouble a time or two. I returned with some fresh scars and some serious reprimands from Dawn for taking stupid chances. She was right; it was simply that I hated being away from her, so I did whatever was necessary to speed things along, and if that meant risky choices, so be it. Finally the doctor gave her the OK and we went back to work, as a team.

At first, I was so happy that we were out in the field together that I didn't notice it. It actually took almost a month to realize the truth, that Dawn had lost something. It used to be that I took point simply as a way to restrain her. Like Faith, she would go charging in and Devil take the hindmost. Now, she avoided hand to hand whenever possible. She would use her pistol and then mine in order to avoid coming to grips with her foe. In the beginning I had hoped that once she got back into the swing of things, her style would revert to what it had been. After a month I could not hold onto that illusion any more. What really tipped the scales was an encounter that we had with a breeding nest for Vrochek demons.

We found the nest easily enough. This particular group of demons had been there for some time. It was only recently that they had gotten aggressive and therefore become a threat. Once that happened, they became our problem. Our tactics were pretty straightforward; I would occupy the defenders while Dawn sprinted in towards the central breeding pit; once there, she would use a couple of satchel charges to clean house. After that, she would rejoin me and we would fight our way out. If there were any survivors, they tended to get the idea that causing trouble was a bad thing to do.

Anyway, the first part of the plan went perfectly. I charged in silently and killed two before my presence was even suspected. This gave Dawn an opening; and, with her speed, more than enough time. I was doing my best to keep the exit clear; fortunately for me, they kept showing up in ones and twos, not as a group.

I felt the ground shake under me, and knew that the central pit and the spawn were toast. I felt Dawn coming towards me, but I could also feel a large mob on her heels. I reached into my coat and drew my pistol. I tossed it to her as she darted past me. Then, together, we made our way towards the exit.

She was doing a good job of keeping the mob of them at bay, using the prepared cylinders to keep up a good rate of fire. Occasionally one or two would charge in while she was reloading, and then I would have the privilege of terminating their existence. The mob was still pretty big, and I knew she was running low on ammo; when things went wrong.

The last cylinder she had, jammed up while she was putting it on the gun; and now she was trying to get it to work. With the gunfire eliminated, the demons took heart and advanced steadily. Fortunately we were in a narrow corridor, so I didn't have to deal with more than three at a time, but they kept coming. I was falling back faster than I had been before. My swords were moving faster and I was fighting better than I could ever remember; I guess necessity will do that to you. But there was still a boatload of them, and I knew that I couldn't keep this up very long, mentally, I was yelling for Dawn to put down the gun and help me. But she just kept plugging away, trying to fix that pistol.

My swords were glowing brightly and moving at a furious pace. I could not believe how many of them I was slaughtering, but they just kept coming, and Dawn kept trying to fix that pistol. My yells for assistance had gotten pretty strident, because I could feel myself getting tired. They were getting closer to me, and I believe that they could see I was winding down. Dawn just wouldn't draw her sword; I come to the realization that she will only use the guns and right now they're not working, so I'm essentially on my own.

Then things go from bad to worse. The demons wee fighting three across, because that was all that could fit in the passageway. I parried an attack from the demon on my left, and used my right handed sword to thrust through the chest of the one in the center. It gave a violent spasm when it died and as I turned to block an attack from the demon on the right, I realized that there was no sword in my hand. This was very bad.

I could see the blow coming from the club the demon was using; I deflected it a bit with my arm, but it still had enough force to knock me back into Dawn and we both went down. One good thing was, it gave me a second of free time, so I could transfer my sword to my right hand, and with my left, pull Gabriel's dagger. Fortunately my right arm still worked well enough to wield my sword. I guess the pistol just needed a good jolt as well, because I was aware of the click of the cylinder sliding home, followed by the booming roar of the antique Colt. She emptied the gun in under five seconds, but each shot was on the mark; but they still kept coming. I stood there, braced for the attack; behind me I could feel Dawn finally pulling her sword, but she was so far back that she wasn't providing any real support. Mentally I was begging her to move foreword; but it was like pulling a reluctant tooth; she would come up tentatively, then scuttle back as soon as things looked a bit dicey.

My left arm was feeling like lead, and I had several minor cuts, and my right arm was barely functional, when the entrance was finally in sight. Whenever we do one of these jobs, the first thing we do is rig the entrance with explosives in case we need to discourage pursuit. I told Dawn to sprint back and prep the detonator. Surprisingly, she hesitated a second, asking if I was sure. I told her; most emphatically, that I was, and she dashed back to set the wires. I summoned the last bits of my strength and attacked, forcing the demons to fall back a bit; putting them on the defensive. This opened enough of a gap, so that there was space between us when I turned and ran. As I was diving out the entrance, Dawn set off the charges and the passage was blocked. We were safe.

I had taken quite a beating, my arm and all of the little wounds were adding up to one very huge pain. Groaning, I rolled over; truth be told, I was pretty darn ticked with Dawn right then, and I was preparing to share my thoughts on the matter. That plan went away as soon as I saw her. She was sitting by the detonator, head down, shaking like a Chihuahua in the snow. I could feel the guilt coming off her in waves. She was afraid, both of what I would say, and the close call that had just occurred. Anger forgotten, I went over to her and just held her in my arms as she cried.

"Ian, I'm so sorry, I nearly got you killed" she managed to gasp out between sobs. I could tell she was sure I'd leave her now.

"I've had closer calls, but what was that all about? I've never seen you like that."

Her crying had abated somewhat, "I just couldn't do it; every time I got close I could feel my wounds, see it happening again, believing that I was gonna get hurt." She broke down again.

"I know that you realize that hanging me out to dry is not a real viable option. So why did you still hang back when I was getting the stuffing beat out of me?"

I knew what was up, and I knew that she had to admit it to herself. I just sat there and dried her tears as her mouth moved, but no sound came out. Finally, "I was, was . . . . . scared" came out as barely a whisper. This admission set off a new wave of crying, and I could still feel the guilt she was carrying.

I raised her chin, so she was looking me in the eyes "don't you think I'm scared every time we go into action. You've seen the shakes I get after close calls; you know how I was when you were hurt; heck, every time you've been hurt. I don't expect you to be without fear; but I need you to not let fear run your life. You are an incredible person; as far as I'm concerned you are the perfect partner, the perfect woman and the other half of my soul. I will never, ever leave you; no matter what, I'm with you for good. Now, I don't want you to be afraid of me leaving, no matter what the circumstance; so please tell me when you're scared, and we can face that together, as we always do; and vanquish it."

She just clung to me, and I did not move. After a sweet eternity she pulled back a little; "I've heard that you believe that it was some insane stroke of luck that brought me to you. Now I've been thinking and I agree; it was lucky, just that I was the truly lucky one." She then proceeded to heal my wounds and my arm, and I did the same for her.

"I guess we both qualify as lucky" I said "so, ready to get back to work; lucky?"

She smiled and nodded; I pulled her up into my arms and we were off. We didn't care where, so long as we were together.

In terms of action, we had a pretty dull stretch. We spent a lot of our time working out and focusing on how to work together, trying to get that seamlessness back. By Memorial Day, we were officially at one hundred percent, both by ourselves and together. That was good, because with what was coming, we would need everything we had.


	9. American Idiot

HOW LIKE A FALLEN ANGEL – CHAPTER 9

We were taking a bit of a holiday, just racking out at the Academy, being hunted once in a while, taking care of emergencies and hitting the beaches a lot, when we got a very strange request. We were on a beach near Cervo, when Buffy found us.

"Hey guys, you two up for a bit of action?"

"Could be, what ya got?"

"A rogue slayer in this little town in Texas. She doesn't believe in vampires or demons and she's using her slayer powers to run the town. Wood tried talking to her, but she had him beaten and hauled off. We could send in a few slayers to handle it, but everyone is pretty busy at the moment; besides you two are here and bored. So; in or out?"

I stole a glance at Dawn, and saw her grinning ear to ear; I looked back at Buffy "definitely in; but OK if we do it tomorrow, Dawn has a bit of wedding planning to do tonight."

Buffy just nodded and joined us on our towel. She was looking better than I had seen her in a long time. I suppose she had finally found her true calling, as I knew she would. We chatted and joked, and simply enjoyed each others company and the day. Too soon, we were headed back.

We slept in, and about noon the next day, we headed for Texas. It was five in the afternoon when we showed up in the town of Brownfield. We were headed for a town called Agua Blanca, but I wanted to travel in style. We were able to pick up an old Harley for a good price and after getting a couple of helmets, we were headed for our appointment. Dawn was in her white leather pants and vest, with an old concert tee shirt underneath. I was wearing black leather pants with a 'Go BAMA' tee shirt and, of course, my duster. We looked like a pair of yuppies out for a disreputable time, which was the idea.

We hit Agua Blanca about eight thirty that night. It was just a wide spot in the road, with a few houses, three businesses a post office and a roadhouse; 'The Armadillo's Den'. If you had to look the term 'roadhouse' up in a dictionary, it would probably have a picture of this place. It was the embodiment of every worn down honkey tonk in America; from the potholed and graveled parking lot, to the flickering neon sign, I though places like this only existed in clichéd movies, not real life. Well, we parked the bike and shook off the road dust and went in.

She wasn't there, at least not yet. So we sat at the bar and ordered a couple of beers. Now normally, I like beer, but the choices I had were 'Lone Star' and 'Schlitz'; considering it was Texas, I ordered a couple of 'Lone Stars'. Just to show that our luck was truly going south, we happened o be there on karaoke night, which meant that we got to hear the same three drunks sing old Hank Williams tunes. I was tempted to get up and belt out some Johnny Cash, just to liven things up, when she walked in.

Both Dawn and I could feel her immediately; and in keeping with our plan, Dawn gave her a couple of minutes to survey the place, killed off her beer and went to the ladies room. I ordered another for both of us, and felt her coming over.

"Hi" she twanged "I'm Shirley".

I looked over at her, she was maybe nineteen, dark hair and a sun bronzed face. She may have even been pretty, except for the spoiled, sour expression on her face and the cold quality of her eyes. Looking into them, it was like she didn't fell any more, she was remote, a borderline sociopath, I thought. She picked up Dawn's beer and took a long pull.

"My names Ian, and that seat is taken"

"I know, I'm takin' it"

"No, my girlfriend is takin' it, and you owe me a beer."

Her eyes got harder, and she looked over my shoulder, "this her", she asked; getting to her feet.

As she moved to confront Dawn, I put my hand out to stop her, "you really don't want to do that" I said.

She just pushed my hand away and facing Dawn asked, "this your fella".

Dawn looked at me, smiled and nodded.

"Mind if I borrow him for a bit?"

Dawn lost her smile and gave Shirley a glare. She looked around her and meeting my eyes asked "who is this bitch."

"This is Shirley" I answered.

With a bit of a chuckle Dawn replied "surely you're joking".

"No, I'm serious, and she really is Shirley."

Dawn shifted her gaze back to the girl and looked her up and down, and finally meeting her eyes said "piss off".

Shirley just gave a little grin, and then belted Dawn right in the jaw.

Dawn took one step back and gave her head a little shake, and then eyes boring into the other girls said "you hit like a girl".

The slayerette had an amazed expression on her face, she swung again, but this time Dawn caught her fist and held it for a second, then shoved her back against the bar. The young girl looked scared, and Dawn's face was lit with a feral smile, a smile I had seen many times before.

Without taking her eyes off Dawn, she shouted to the others: "Billy, Joe-Bob, you two take care of him, Bubba, Bud, give me a hand with her.

I know she heard the clicks, but no other movement. Not being stupid, and wanting to know exactly what was going on, she slowly turned towards me. That whiny, petulant look was back on her face, I guess she didn't care for it when her orders were ignored. She looked at the guys, who were not moving and finally her eyes drifted to me and the two very eloquent arguments for non-involvement that were in my hands.

I waved the Colts at the occupants of the roadhouse, "what do you say fellas, you wanna see a fair fight?"

"They all just nodded, even the three old drunks and the bartender; I turned to Shirley and said "looks like you're on your own darlin'". She didn't look happy about not being in charge anymore, but she didn't really have much choice. She turned back to face Dawn and, I suppose, face the music. The smile still lit Dawn's face as they went at it.

It became clear after the first flurry of blows that Shirley was overmatched. It was like watching one of the early fight scenes from 'The Matrix'. Shirley would throw a punch, and Dawn would simply not be there to be hit, then Dawn would let fly with a precise counterpunch. Shirley, and the bar, was taking quite a beating, but I could see that Dawn was pulling almost all her punches. She was stretching this out, the sadist.

Shirley was getting a bit desperate; she was ready to try anything to win. As she went down for the ninth or tenth time; I saw her go for a knife with her right hand. I warned Dawn, who lit the knife thrust pass mere inches from her nose, then disarmed her with a wrist lock. Then she folded the slayer wanna-be with a full strength punch to the kidney followed by an elbow to the jaw. Shirley was well and truly out of it. Dawn scooped her up and headed for the door. I continued to cover the patrons with both Colts, even though no one seemed inclined to cause trouble. We made it out to the parking lot, and I fired up the Harley. Dawn got on with Shirley and we headed down the road. We went a few miles, until no lights were visible and we were well and truly alone. We stopped and woke up the former queen of Aqua Blanca.

She looked wildly around, wondering where she was, then understanding hit her eyes.

"Listen up kid, we've got some stuff to tell you, and then you need to make a decision. You understand?"

The girl just nodded. We proceeded to tell her about demons and slayers and what her duty was. She listened, I truly believe that she listened; but in the end she could not let go of being in charge. She threw a handful of sand in our faces and tried to run. I have no idea where she thought she could go, I mean we were in the middle of nowhere after all. I was the first to recover and in a very short time, I caught her and returned her to her unconscious state. I carried her back to the bike.

"So, what do we do with her now?"

"Watchers Council, I guess; after all that's what they're supposed to do."

I agreed with Dawn, but the idea of what could happen to this girl chilled me. But I knew that Giles and Xander and the rest would do everything they could to be fair. We got back on the bike, and pulled Shirley up with us, and then we caught 'the express' to Scotland.

It was a real drain, teleporting all of that weight, but I really loved traveling on the bike, and was astounded that I hadn't thought of it before. We popped up in this section of the Highlands that looked like it was right out of a dream. It was simple, stark and beautiful. We headed on toward Edinburgh, to a small estate just to the north called Veritas. This was the new headquarters of the Watchers Council. We pulled up, and announced ourselves. Allana came down to greet us and find out why we were there. We explained the whole situation t her along with our observations about Shirley. Allana and Dawn went off to apprise Giles of the situation, leaving me sitting with the unconscious red-neck. I chuckled to myself, wondering what they would make of her accent and attitude. I suppose, after dealing with Faith, attitude was something they could handle. Xander showed up, and asked me to take her to a cell in the basement of the property. Giles was already there, with a syringe of something in his hand.

"Much like the serum used during the Cruciamentum, but lasting at least a month. Hopefully we can convince her of the error of her ways in that time, and she can help our cause. If not, well this place isn't so bad."

"Hopefully" I said, "but even if she seems to come around I'd keep her away from the States for a good, long time, cause I think she'd run the first chance she got."

"We'll see" he said "giving the girl the shot and backing out of the cell."

The door slid home and Xander spoke up "you up for dinner?"

We picked up Olivia and the six of us headed for a pub called the 'Boar and Hounds' that everyone seemed to think was great. I can't say it was my favorite place in the world, but after 'The Armadillo's Den', it was a vast step up. We ate and drank and did some wedding planning. Giles was to be Xander's best man, with both Oz and Myself as groomsmen. Dawn was Allana's maid of honor, with Willow and Buffy as the bridesmaids. It was shaping up to be a lovely ceremony. Allana asked if we could stay a day or two; I checked with the 'higher-ups' and they said it was fine. We ended up closing the pub down and even I was a bit squiffy as we made our way back to the mansion.

We slept in very late, and after brunch; Dawn and Allana went off to talk about wedding stuff. I had been planning to go over the bike and clean and straighten everything, when I saw Xander looking bored. I asked him if he wanted to help with motorcycle maintenance.

"Sure, if you'll use it to teach me Zen."

"Sorry, Buddhism not exactly my thing, remember; serious Christian here."

He had this lopsided grin on his face "I can't believe it, I make a literary reference and you don't catch it."

"What"

"I'll explain in a second, right now I'm just basking in this unusual sensation."

"Xander, what the heck are you talking about?"

He then showed me a copy of 'Zen and the art of Motorcycle Maintenance'. I finally understood the reference and his surprise. After all, who would you expect to know about different religions? Anyway, after absorbing a good bit of verbal abuse, I got Xander to agree to help me out with the Harley.

We had removed the manifolds and were soaking the carb, when I turned to Xander. Up to now we had been talking about soccer, European football and other sports related topics, when I decided to change the subject.

"Xander, can I ask you something out of left field?"

"Sure, what's on your mind?"

"Why are you getting married?"

I could tell instantly that it was not a topic that he had anticipated, but much to my surprise; he was actually thinking about his answer rather than throwing off some trite justification.

"I suppose it comes down to demonstrating that you are a man of your word. I mean what guy hasn't said 'I love you' just to get something from a girl; but committing to marriage shows her that you just aren't mouthing words, that you truly do love her, and her alone."

I just looked at him for a second, awed by what he had said, and the depth of passion behind his words. "Have you ever told Allana that, or has she ever heard you talk like that, because that was one of the most eloquent things I've ever heard."

He looked up, at first like he thought I was pulling his leg or something; but he saw that I was serious, and blushed at the praise. "Can I ask why you wanted to know?"

"It's a topic that I've been wrestling with for some time now. I love Dawn; I cannot imagine anyone as perfect for me as she is. Xander, she completes me, she supplied the pieces that I didn't even realize weren't there. Emotionally I know I should ask her to marry me in a heartbeat, but intellectually I know that I probably won't live another five years. How can I build anything when I'm saddled with this? Is it fair to make a commitment like that while knowing full well that the odds of seeing your tenth anniversary are somewhere between slim and none."

"Who cares how much time you may or may not have together? Seriously, we could all be dead tomorrow, but it wouldn't change how we felt or how we loved."

"So, you think I'm being a bit of an idiot?"

"Maybe just a bit, but mostly I think you're just afraid. Not the most surprising thing in the world."

"Hey, who am I to argue with the 'All Seeing Xander'."

"And don't you forget it buddy."

We laughed and he caught me up on what the 'Council' had been doing and how the new slayers had been functioning. In return, I told him some of our adventures and the places we had been and things we had seen. I had always appreciated the special person that Xander was, I had from the first; but just spending the day and talking with him made me appreciate even more the remarkable person that he was.

Eventually the ladies had covered every bit of wedding planning possible, and came out to see what we had been doing with our time. It was neat to see how Allana changed just from being around Xander. She just lit up, and this cloud of serenity surrounded her, as though when she was near him, nothing else mattered.

It was about three in the afternoon, so we decided to go to a place that Xander knew that was nearby and have a picnic dinner. That sounded great to me.

We drove to this lake, or I suppose loch is the word, and spread our stuff out in this secluded clearing that Xander obviously knew was there. We relaxed and chatted about life, the universe and everything. When that got old we tossed a Frisbee. Dawn suggested that we go skinny dipping, but that was vetoed by the rest of us. I could tell that Allana was much shyer than the rest of us, and I didn't want her to feel embarrassed.

That night Dawn and I talked about taking the bike down to London and just sightseeing for a day or two. The idea sounded great to me, I'd never spent any significant time in London, and had always wanted to see the Royal Gallery. So the next day we loaded up the bike, said our goodbyes to the 'Council' and took a leisurely drive down to London. We got there late in the afternoon and decided to stay at the 'Feather's Inn', a small private hotel in Notting Hill. We got cleaned up and went out for dinner. Unfortunately British cooking is pretty awful, whether you're in a five star restaurant or the corner pub. After dinner we went to a club and danced till about midnight. There was one vampire in the joint, but Dawn managed to bag him during a pretty lively number, so no-one really noticed him poofing.

We made our way back to the hotel, looking forward to a good night's sleep. Sorry to say, that didn't happen. About two in the morning we were both awakened by the phone. I had told the desk not to put anything through, except for an emergency. I just hoped that his definition of emergency ran to hangnails, parking tickets and such.

"Ian, you awake?"

"Almost Xander, what the heck is going on?"

"Willow just called here looking for you, she said something about this huge flair of evil energy, and she thought she felt you involved. You and Dawnie are OK right, not fighting some big bad?"

"Yeah, we're fine, just sleepy." I hung up the phone, telling Dawn about what Xander had said.

"Could it have been one of the other ones?"

"Maybe, but I would have expected to hear from the higher ups if it was."

Troubled but tired, I put out the light and we went back to sleep.

Half an hour later, we were awakened by power flaring in our room. As my eyes cleared, I could see the form of a woman standing in the center of the floor. She looked like a hologram, but I recognized Serena, Willows' second in the Coven.

"Ian, you and Dawn are needed."

"What's the matter?"

"Your brother and sister have been captured and are being tortured."

"Why?"

"So that you will come."

"Isn't that begging for trouble?"

"In a way, but he has a purpose. He seeks to eliminate the Seraph from this plane of existence."

"I didn't know that was even a possibility."

"It is, but all must be present. He has two, he must not get you."

Suddenly the image blinked out of existence; I didn't know if it had been cut off or if she was just finished.

Wanting a few more answers, I called Giles. Xander answered, and put Giles on. He sounded almost as weary as I felt. I explained what Serena had told me about eliminating the Seraph, and wondering how it was possible.

"Just stay where you are, we'll do some research and hopefully have some answers soon."

He hung up and I turned to Dawn, filling her in and asking her opinion.

"I guess the big question is; are you going to try to rescue them?"

"If they are in trouble, I have to."

"But you know it's a trap."

"I know, but morally, I don't have a choice. I gave them my word and I'm going to fulfill it or die trying."

"You're a dope, you know that don't you?"

"Yeah, I do, and I understand if you don't want any of this."

"Now you really are being a dope, if I can't talk you out of this idiocy, I'm not just gonna sit around waiting to hear about it. I'm sticking with you, no matter what."

I was about to reply when the phone rang again. It was Giles, back in record time.

"If they kill all three of you at the same time over an altar during a black mass, then your angelic essence is sent to heaven, and cannot inhabit a human host. With all of the Seraph gone, new ones cannot be created. That's what our magician is trying to do, eliminate the forces of good or order in the world."

I think he'd been taking lessons from Dawn, because he said all of that in one rush, without taking a breath.

"Thanks Giles, anything else."

"Yes, actually; he'll have an acolyte or apprentice helping him and many demons to supply evil energy. Probably no vampires but most other species of demons are usable."

I thanked Giles again and hung up. Then I put in the call I least wanted to make.

"Yes little brother?" It was Michael.

"Were you ever going to tell me?"

"We would prefer that you didn't go."

"I realize that, and I appreciate the risks involved, but there is no way I'm gonna just sit on the sidelines and watch. Can the four of you do anything?"

"Not directly, no; but if you insist on going then I can advise. You will need more than just the two of you. And here is where you need to go."

His/her hand floated down and touched my forehead, imparting the location and every other bit of information that they thought I could use. She/he stepped back and said "Good fortune, and all our blessings go with you."

That last bit wasn't just words. When they cared to do so, Archangels could bless a person, increasing their strength, endurance and even luck. Knowing we were being given every bit of help that they could bestow, we prepared to leave. I called Xander so he could pick up the bike, there was no way we could take it with us. And Dawn and I 'caught the express' to Spain to recruit help.

When we got there, we woke up Buffy, Faith and Willow and explained the situation.

"So let me get this straight" Buffy said "some psycho is holding and torturing the other two Seraph in order to lure you there so he can eliminate you all at once. Having done this, he is going to try to destroy the forces for order in the world; definitely including slayers in this group. Then the entire world will be in chaos, and that's what he wants."

"That's pretty much it" I said. "I don't want to, but we pretty much have to play this one head on. Just find him, kill him, and rescue those that we can. No finesse, just a knock down drag out fight."

"The real question is who's coming with you" Willow asked.

"I figured you, Faith and two others to watch your backs."

"Absolutely" Faith put in "Little J is my sis; I'm not leaving this to anyone else."

"What about me" asked a rather indignant Buffy?

I turned to her "you're the second wave darlin'. If we don't make it, the slayers are the most effective force for order in the world, along with the Church. If we can't stop him, you and the Cardinal need to make arrangements to get the job done, I trust you to be able to make the tough decisions."

"So" Faith asked "who else for the 'suicide squad'?"

"I think Jenn should come along" Willow said "she's a slayer and a witch, that's a tough combination to beat."

"I'll go" supplied Oz. I had not been aware of him just kind of lurking back in the shadows: from the startled looks, neither had anyone else.

"You got the wolf thing under control" Faith asked.

"Totally"

"The important question is how well does your brain function when you 'wolf out'?"

"Not one hundred percent, but I'm not gonna attack anyone I'm not supposed to."

"Well" Dawn said "looks like we got a rescue party. Let's load up."

Dawn and I stuck with our weapons, Willow only took this ceremonial knife, Jenn picked a few throwing stars and a very nice battle axe. Oz went for the commando look with an automatic rifle, pistols and grenades. Faith had some guns and grenades herself, surprising me in her departure from traditional slayer weapons.

Once we were equipped to our liking, we joined hands and went to where the Archangel had shown me. I know most of us didn't expect to live to see the end.


	10. Appetite for Destruction

_A/N - This is my first chapter with multiple points of view. I hope that it is not too confusing for anyone. I want to re-iterate that I have enjoyed writing these stories, and I can only hope that you have enjoyed reading them nearly as much. Once again, I'd like to thank Cathode and Banadar for their criticism and advice; helping me to keep the characters true._

_POE1911_

HOW LIKE A FALLEN ANGEL – CHAPTER 10

IAN

We came to ourselves in an alcove off of the main structure. It was obvious that we were underground. None of us held any illusions about being undetected either; we all knew that anything with an ounce of power was aware of our arrival. No, the first things that any of us noticed were the sounds, screaming coming from two distinct voices and low guttural sounds of hunger and avidity in the background. The kind of noise you associate with the Coliseum in Rome as the Christians were thrown to the beasts. Although we were fairly well concealed, we could see the room clearly. Near us and to the left was an altar, crimson (either from blood or stained that way) surrounded by black candles. Two robed figures were standing to either side of it and two people hung suspended over it. Of course the two that were bound were Janice and Daniel, the two in the robes were the ones making them scream. The bulk of the area was occupied by demons of many shapes and varieties; although they seemed to be of the nastier sort than normal. I almost left right then, just turned and said 'the heck with it' and popped back out and left my two brethren to their fate. But then one of the robed figures stroked Janice with a sponge; from the heartrending sound that came from her throat, I can be pretty confident that it wasn't loaded with water. Suddenly I didn't care anymore; I was facing evil in some of it purest forms and I was going to purge them from this plane of existence or give my life in the attempt. Mentally I gave directions to the other five. Those with guns tore into the demons, those without started lobbing grenades; time to start evening the odds.

FAITH

I thought for a second that Ian was not going through with it. He actually seemed intimidated by the total shitload of demons that were there, but then J screamed and it was like he transformed. It was really scary, he just suddenly lit up, but it wasn't with joy or happiness; he looked like someone who had come to a decision. Those of us packing heat locked and loaded while Willow and Jenn started throwing our grenades. Ian and Dawn had their Colts, Oz had an AK-47 and I had a pair of 45 automatics. We just let the lead fly. The girls lobbed a couple of grenades in the general direction of the altar, but they just bounced off of something and had no effect on the festivities going on there. So they shifted their aim to the general populace. We opened up a hole in the middle of the assholes on the floor and so we just waded into them. I couldn't believe how fast Dawn and Ian were loading and firing, or how many demons were biting the dust. We were moving in the general direction of the altar when we split into three groups. Jenn and I were gonna free the two Seraph's, Willow and Oz were to take out the Big Bad, and Ian and Dawn were gonna handle the demons. Will fired a bolt of energy at the protected circle and shattered it. The concussion sent both the wizard and his acolyte toppling off the altar. We went to free both the Seraph. Jenn jumped up on the altar and was using her axe to cut through the chains holding them up. Thank God for slayer strength. I caught J and the other one, I think his name was Daniel and set them down on the floor. They were both really messed up; these bastards had been using whips, knives and acid on them. For whatever reason, they hadn't touched their faces, but the rest of their bodies looked like hell. Jenn was getting ready to come down when an energy bolt blew her ass off the altar, and I found myself facing the acolyte. I looked over at Will for help, but she was squaring off with the wizard and really didn't have time to help me. I was on my own against a very powerful and very pissed off person.

WILLOW

I saw Jenn come flying off the altar to land in a heap in front. I saw she was still breathing. I went to help her, but felt a huge power flare, thingy. I saw the wizard rise from where he had been thrown when his protection had been busted. Oz moved protectively in front of me, but I told him, in his mind, to watch my back because there really wasn't anything he could do to hurt this guy. I readied my defenses as best I could, 'cause I knew he'd attack. Suddenly I heard this crackling and he had these handfuls of lightning that he was using like two whips. I'd never seen anything like that, but I had an idea. My protective spells were holding for now, so I caused the air around him to saturate and condense. Just as I had hoped, the lightning was now shorting into him and baking his butt pretty darn good. He was forced to drop the spell and just stood there cursing for a second or two. I looked at Oz, and he was using his rifle to keep some of the creeps off of Ian and Dawn; because no one was coming near us. I turned back to face the wizard, because I knew it was time for a counter-attack.

IAN

Dawn and I were in the middle of this huge writhing mass of demons. Nearly every species was present in one form or another. Between the gunfire and the grenades, we had already taken a fearful toll, but there were still way too many of them. To put it bluntly Dawn and I were the bait. We knew that killing us would be the demons' first priority, so as long as we were alive, the others had a chance to do what they needed to do. As for us, well anyone who's ever been fishing knows that it never works out too well for the bait. When we decided to come, we knew it would most likely be a one way ticket, but we both realized that it was what we had to do. Evil had to be opposed, no matter what the cost. So here we were, back to back in the middle of the nastiest mass of demons that we had ever encountered. We had pretty much used up the pistols and were fighting with swords, much more useful in close quarters. At least Dawn was using two swords; I had a sword and Gabriel's dagger. We were constantly moving, hacking and thrusting; leaving a mass of bodies and limbs in our wake. I had never fought so well. We had never been so together, so seamless in our support of each other, or so lethal. What was unusual was how aware I was of the whole room. Usually I have pretty tight tunnel vision at times like this, but it was almost like I was outside myself, dispassionately observing the action. I was aware of Willow's first magical pass with the Big Bad. I knew that she had shorted out his lightning and then plastered him against the wall with a blast of sound. I knew Oz was picking off the stray demon with the rifle that he had. I could see Jenn working to free Janice and Daniel despite her obvious wounds. And I knew Faith was having quite a struggle with the acolyte. Mostly though, I was aware of Dawn. It wasn't like we were two people any more, just one being with two bodies as we savaged the churning mass of evil around us. We were taking hits; I had a pretty bad cut on my right thigh, and Dawn had taken a pretty hard blow to her upper right chest, but we were like berserks, we just shrugged the wounds off. I knew that we would both be hurting big time if we managed to live, but right now it just didn't matter. I heard a yell and looked up to where Faith was fighting with the acolyte; it looked like she needed help.

FAITH

It was your typical demon fight, only I wasn't fighting a demon. She was covered in this robe thing and had this wicked curvey knife; I was using the two knives that J had given me for Christmas. I had gotten in a few knuckle dusters and a cut or two, but so had she. The thing was; it hadn't slowed her down at all. What little I had seen of her was human, so the only thing I could think is that it was another rogue slayer. That would really be ironic. But, she was obviously into the whole mojo thing, and the only slayer like that was on the ground nearby, really messed up. I couldn't figure it. She charged at me with this half assed roar. I dropped and spun to my left, slashing at her with my right. I caught her across the side and all along her back. Unfortunately it wasn't that deep, but I bet that it hurt wicked bad. Anyway, part of her robe came away and I could finally figure it. I wanted to puke. I suppose she had started out as human, but she wasn't that way now. B had told me about the 'Initiative' when Riley was part of our happy little family. She had told me how psycho lady was trying to do some human/demon hybrid thing, making this unstoppable killer. Well, it looked like someone had run with that idea, except instead of surgery it had been done magically. Parts of the girl had been transformed into different demon bits. Why the hell would someone allow that? I didn't wanna know! She looked down and realized her secret was out; I guess it pissed her off even more because she charged again. She was strong, but clumsy, and I managed to stick both my knives into her. She stopped and turned towards me, and then she smiled. OH Shit! She wasn't stopping. I really turned loose on her, hitting her with everything I had, but the bitch just kept coming. I fired a reverse kick at her head, and it connected real well. But it left me off balance and I tripped over Jenn, dammit I was down. I rolled over but it was too late, she was on me, her hands around my neck, crap. I was looking around for help, but Willow was mojoing Mr. Badguy and Oz was watching her back. Jenn was out; and I looked out to see that Ian and Dawn were dealing with troubles of their own. I realized I was in deep shit, but for a second I just watched them. It was like watching a ballet, but with blood and shit flying everywhere. I had never seen two people move the way that they did, perfectly supporting each other and dealing a huge amount of death. I just hope they live to ice this bitch, cause it looks like I'm leaving the game.

IAN

I heard the yell and saw Faith up by the altar. The acolyte had her down and looked to be choking her to death. I could see two knives sticking out of the things body, but they obviously weren't slowing it down. Both Dawn and I were too far away, Jenn was out and Oz now had to work at guarding Willow. For a second I felt totally helpless; Faith was gonna die, and I could just watch. Then I saw something, movement where things shouldn't be moving. It was Janice; she was both alive and aware. With a mental shout, I flung Gabriel's dagger towards her, hoping that the blessing we had received hadn't already been spent. I couldn't take time to see the results because I was still fighting for both our lives. I ripped another sword out of my duster just in time to parry a cut from a very pesky Vrichla demon. Dawn reached back and cut through its throat as it stumbled from the force of my parry. She was then back hacking at three demons at the same time. You'd think that after so many of them had died, that they might hesitate or even run away, but they kept coming with the same fury as before. A few minutes later I was twisting around gutting a couple when I heard yelling and a scream from the direction of the altar, then the sound of wings, and suddenly there was fire everywhere, just what the heck was going on?

FAITH

I know they say that your life flashes in front of you; but the way I figure it is that must have been written by people who didn't actually die, so how the hell would they know. Anyway, all I was feeling was pissed off that I wasn't taking this half-demon bitch with me. She had her hands around my throat and my vision was getting all black and fuzzy, I could only really see her face. She was grinning, I do remember that, then suddenly her smile changed, there was definitely something in her mouth, and her eyes glazed. The grip eased up on my throat, and when oxygen finally started getting to my brain again I could tell that whatever was in her mouth was glowing. Suddenly it was moving up, and crap started spilling all over me. I cleared my eyes and the first thing I saw was J standing over me with this glowing dagger. She had stuck it in demon girl's head and then just split the thing open. I guess that's one way to do it. Even though J was standing, she looked more dead than alive, but she looked better than anyone else I saw. Both Jenn and that Daniel guy were awake, but definitely out of the fight; I guess he had taken more of the abuse than J had and Jenn had this really nasty wound where demon girl had mojoed her. I looked around; Will seemed to have her bit under control so I told J to guard and heal these two while I went to help Ian and Dawn. I was just hoping they didn't chop me up my mistake while I was trying to help. I pulled my knives from the dead bitch and jumped down off of the altar area when things just went nuts.

WILLOW

After the sonic blast, I knew I was gonna win, I mean someone strong enough to give me trouble would have been able to stop that easy. I know, ego much, but it's just the truth. The other thing the blast did was knock the hood off his head and I could finally see who I was dealing with, Ethan Rayne. I guess I should have known. He kept firing and I just kept blocking. He had tapped into some huge reservoir of power, but if you know the counterspell, it doesn't matter how much power is put behind an attack. He, on the other hand, was taking some pretty nasty hits. Mostly from my elemental attacks, after all; wicca, elements, you figure it out. I was about ready to put him in a suspended animation thing when he actually decided that speaking was a good idea; I guess he was desperate.

"It's not you, or even them; it's him. He's the reason."

Not making much sense here; "who's the reason."

"He's the focus, the critical piece, when he's gone, balance can be restored."

"Balance?"

"Between Order and Chaos. He is the motivating force that has put them out of balance, and now Order is ascendant. He must be removed for the balance to restore, or else Chaos will recede. Just let me kill him and I'll stop."

"You aren't killing anyone bucko, you're not even in a position to ask for anything."

"But he must die, don't you feel that?"

He still wasn't much on making sense, so I was just gonna shut him up and knock him out, when he shifted focus; it was only for a split second, but I could tell. So I was ready when he threw a fire spell at someone other than me. Screaming, I whirled and wrapped a protection spell around Oz, if that bastard wanted to play it that way, I could too. But it wasn't Oz he was aiming at. Too late, I finally understood what Chaos boy had meant.

FAITH

I had jumped into the fight to help Ian and Dawn; not that I would be much help considering the wasted state I was in, but since when did I back away from a brawl. I heard a scream from the altar and saw this gout of fire erupt from wizard guy. Willow was screaming, but both she and dog-boy were still OK. Then I realized that neither of them was the target and time seemed to slow down. It was headed right at Ian and Dawn, and they were too deep in battle to even know to duck or dodge or anything. Christ, he was gonna fry em up right in front of me. Suddenly there was a yell from the altar and that Daniel guy was jumping towards Ian, good thought, but there was no way he'd get there in time. All the sudden his wings appear and just like that, he's between Ian and Dawn and the fire. It catches him square in the back, and I can see that he's one hurtin unit. He crashes to the ground, writhing in agony and I've gotta choose between helping him or helping them. I decide to help him, so I stow my knives and start dragging his ass back to the altar. Unfortunately I look up in time to see Willow turn most of the magic guy's insides out. I'm just looking at his guts and organs as he's flopping around in them. But then he raises his head; OH MY GOD he's still alive. Despite my years as a slayer, and all the stuff I've seen in my life, I puke and pass out.

IAN

I look up as Daniel crashed screaming to the ground. He has taken a hit from some sort of fire spell or flamethrower or something and is in a bad way. Unfortunately we are in no position to help him; we're still fighting off a hairy handful of demons. A couple of minutes later there's a voice in my head that yells DUCK. I drop and I pull Dawn down with me. Over our head is a cloud, like roiling ink, and whatever it touches, dies. The demons are breaking and running, but if the cloud touches the least little bit of them, they die. No yelling or screaming or writhing, just death. Suddenly the cloud is not there, and the only sound I hear is our breathing and one man's screaming. I look towards the sound and cannot believe what I am seeing. I hear a harsh gasp from Dawn, Willow is there, but it isn't Willow, her hair is black and her face is pale and disfigured. She is bent over, talking to the still living remains of a person.

"What's the matter now, this not chaotic enough for you?" She reaches down and gives a bit of intestine a twist, eliciting another ragged scream from the thing on the floor.

I'm about to say something, when Dawn fires off "don't do this Willow."

"Why not?"

"Because we've been here before, and it's not a pretty place to be. He's not worth damaging yourself over."

"He's just an animal, look at the pain he's caused; look at you, and Ian and everyone else. He needs to pay for what he caused."

"But he's not worth you doing this to yourself."

"What, you don't like the Goth look."

"No, I like the Willow look."

"Bored now" and she turned back to the mewling thing on the floor.

Quicker than I could believe, Dawn drew her pistol and put the last ball in it through the magicians head, ending his suffering.

Willow whipped back around, rage contorting her features. She drew back her arm, power thrumming around her clenched fist. I was preparing to block her strike with everything I had, when someone move between the two women.

"That's enough Willow."

"Out of the way Oz, she killed him too quickly, now his suffering is gonna be hers."

"Why, 'cause she put him out of his misery, because she had a bit of mercy; Willow, listen to yourself."

"You don't know all the trouble he's caused, not just this but everything else that he's done. If I kept him alive for another ten years like this, it wouldn't begin to make up for what he's done."

"That was never your decision to make."

She stared at him, rage and confusion twisting her face. He took a step towards her, and she took a step back.

"He deserved what he got."

"Who are you to decide that?"

"I'm the one that had to deal with him."

"We all chose to deal with him, it wasn't just you."

I could see her confusion now, her will was no longer focused, and she was questioning herself. She took a good look at the mess that she had made of Ethan, and then she looked at the remains of the acolyte and recognized Amy. Her body just crumpled. She was sobbing and holding Oz and going on about how sorry she was. I gave a huge sigh of relief knowing that the odds of me being quick fried were finally pretty much down to zero.

My adrenalin rush was finally receding and I was beginning to feel all my wounds, and I know Dawn was feeling the same thing. None of us had life threatening injuries except Daniel, so we did what we could to heal him. Our power was pretty low, and we still needed to get home, so we could only do the most rudimentary job of it, hoping that time and Dr. Bement would be enough to heal all of us properly.

We linked what power we all had and 'caught the express' back to the Academy. We appeared in the medical area, which had been set up in the anticipation of our return (or maybe it was wishful thinking). Anyway, we showed up, and slayer trainees took over sorting out the really wounded from the kind of wounded. Buffy, after a quick count, came up to me and said "Wow, you all made it".

"If you say so" I replied and promptly passed out at her feet.


	11. Point of Know Return

HOW LIKE A FALLEN ANGEL – CHAPTER 11

We spent the next couple of days recovering. Willow, Oz and Faith had come through with the least physical damage, although Faith was embarrassed by the fact that she had passed out and Willow was still feeling awful about going all psycho. Dawn and I were up and about the next day, good thing too since I was the only functional Seraph on the planet. We were a trifle busy taking care of all that needed care. In a couple of days Janice was back to functional, although she still had some demons to work out over the torture that she suffered, and what she had done to the acolyte. It was Daniel that was occupying the doctors' attention, as well as that of Willow and Dawn and I. We were all working to save him. He was burned over much of his body and that was being healed, but his spirit was sick, he did not seem to wish to recover. Finally I'd had enough; I went in to see him, practically bristling with anger.

"Why are you still here?"

He looked up at me; I honestly think he couldn't believe his ears. "I'm still injured."

"You could have healed days ago; so while you lie idly here, Janice and I are wearing ourselves thin doing your job and our own."

He looked hurt, and a bit angry. "I absorbed this saving your life as well as Dawn's."

"True, but were you looking to save our lives; or were you simply looking for death and this was the first opportunity that presented itself?"

He raised himself up, wincing at the pain. "I should thrash you for even suggesting that."

I leaned in with a sneer and said "then why don't you?"

"You had better not be here when I can get up."

"Maybe, but you're fighting to live now; aren't you?" In addition to being telepathic, we can communicate a lot with body language and nuance of phrase. Basically I had just told him he was acting like a putz.

He continued to look wrathy as a rattlesnake for a second and then understanding smoothed his features, and he even managed a little chuckle.

"Thank you" he said as I turned to leave his room.

"You're welcome" I answered "and I'm looking forward to you thrashing me".

He laughed again as I left.

Dr. Bement had heard a bit of our little talk, and asked "what was all that about?"

"Daniel was feeling guilty; I reminded him what was really important."

"What does he have to feel guilty about?"

"He left Dawn to suffer back in April, but then she risked almost certain death to rescue him. Obviously that weighed a bit on his soul."

"So he's going to be fine now?"

"Yeah, I reminded him what the focus of his life should be, and not to dwell on the past. That the rest of the world is more important than his ego."

"Thanks, he had me a bit worried."

"No problem, hey, how's Jenn doing?"

"She should be able to start training again tomorrow."

"Thanks Doc."

"Hey, that's why you all pay me, right."

I wandered out, just enjoying the sun. Most of the trainees had headed back to their homes, better equipped to survive than they had been. Jenn was still there, and she would be for a while; but the others were due to leave in the next couple of days. Even the studio was quiet. The last few tracks had been recorded and the album was now in post production somewhere over in the States. Most of the band was scattered around the world, but of course Oz was still around. He and Willow had been practically inseparable since the fight. I guess he was trying to help her control her dark side, something he knew a lot about.

After dinner, Dawn, Faith, Buffy and me went out dancing. My leg was still a bit game, but we had fun. At one point someone fired up the Karaoke machine, but we decided against singing, hey sometimes you just wanna dance.

During one of my assignments I had stopped by Scotland and picked up my Harley. Every now and again Dawn and I would go riding through the mountains of northern Spain.

Work was still there, but it was almost a time of letdown. After the horrific events that we had survived, work just seemed routine. I know it wasn't, especially for the people that we helped, but I had realized that for me to be happy, I needed challenge. That doesn't mean I did stupid stuff or went without Dawn just for kicks; I wasn't reckless, but I was restless. I had an idea that I wanted to try, but I wasn't sure about it. Truth be told, I was a bit scared.

The rest of June went by in this kind of anti-climactic blur. Daniel healed and returned to work and Dawn and I were working steadily right up till the First of July. Dawn had headed up there about the 28th of June so I was on my own a couple of days, but there were no troubles.

I finished up rescuing a family in Sri Lanka and headed to Scotland. Lucky me, I got there right in time for the bachelor party.

We were in the back room of the Boar and Hounds. Unfortunately time had not helped the quality of the food, but the company was good. Thank God there were no strippers or anything like that, but there was a huge amount of drinking. I stuck with beer, but everyone was indulging pretty heavily. Scotch seemed to be the drink of choice, but a little of everything was had that night. When everyone was good and lubricated, the evil Karaoke machine was brought out for everyone's mutual humiliation. I wish I had brought a recording device with me, because I would be swimming in blackmail money if I had. I guess the highlight of the night (if you want to call it that) was Xander and Giles singing Abba's 'Take a Chance on Me'. Oz and I went up together and did a decent job on 'Surfer Girl' by the Beach Boys; but that was the only official singing I did. Of course I sang along with the pub songs, but that doesn't really count because I was being drowned out by twenty very squiffy and out of tune Brits. About three in the morning, Oz and I finally managed to pry Xander out of there and get him back to Veritas. We made sure he was in bed and out cold, when we knocked off ourselves. That night had been fun, but beyond that; it had really helped me get to know this very quiet guy. I was aware of the forces at work inside him, and the struggle he went through to keep them in check, I found myself admiring him greatly.

I was so out of it that I didn't even wake up when Dawn came home. So it was with a rather wicked enthusiasm that I woke her up at eight in the morning.

"Hey Bella Alba, rise and shine."

"Go away Ian."

I got up and opened the curtains and then sat on the side of the bed "how was the party?"

She just groaned and rolled away from the light.

I pulled the top layer of covers off and started rubbing her back. "Come on, what disreputable things did you do last night?"

"Nothing too disreputable" she answered; "a bit of dancing."

"Were you onstage with the stripper?"

She turned a very endearing shade of pink; "he may have made an appearance."

"And how many of your clothes did you manage to loose because it was so hot up there?"

"One or two things, damn you know me too well; or was there a spy?"

"No spy, but Faith helped plan it, so I knew there would be strippers, and I do know you well enough to know that you would do something like that to loosen up your friend. I know you're willing to sacrifice a bit of dignity to make her feel at ease. So how naked were you?"

"Not naked, just a bit underclothed."

"So, panties and bra?"

"Hey I had shoes and socks on too, and a scarf around my neck."

I just laughed; I could picture her up on the stage, having a great time. "Come on sleepy up and at 'em."

I finally worked her out of bed, and we showered up, not taking too much extra time. The wedding was on the grounds of the estate, and for a change, the weather was actually co-operating, either that or Willow had made sure it would be gorgeous. Well for whatever reason, you couldn't have asked for a more perfect day.

The wedding was scheduled for two in the afternoon, so of course I was getting my tux on at noon. What can I say, I hate being late for anything. I knew that Dawn and the girls were getting ready somewhere else, so I took the opportunity to just sit back and watch the whole thing come together.

I had to deal with a bit of an emergency when Spazz and Annie decided that the caterer was suspicious and decided to follow him around barking to make sure we all shared their sentiments. I dealt with the dogs, and talked the guy into not quitting on the spot, but other than that, the wedding ran like a Swiss watch. We didn't run into any trouble until the reception was about to start. That's when Dawn came up to me and asked an important question.

"Where's the band, Ian?"

"How should I know?"

"Weren't you told to pick them up?"

"Nope, nobody ever mentioned picking up the band."

"You're joking."

"Dawn, I can't lie, I can't forget either; so believe me when I tell you that no-one ever mentioned picking up the band, at least not to me."

"Shit, we've got thirty minutes until the reception officially starts and there's no band. What the hell are we gonna do, steal the Karaoke machine from the pub? That'll be great, the wedding party up on stage singing to the bride and groom."

I was trying to think of a solution, when a bit of what she said registered. "Dawn, you're a genius."

"What?"

"We'll be the band, Faith, Buffy, Janice, Oz, me, you, and whoever we can find to play the keyboards. Janice and I can pop down to the studio, get our instruments and be back here in under half an hour. We'll be the band; come on, we've got to sound better than anyone they could hire. What do you think?"

She looked thoughtful for a second, "sounds like a plan."

Mentally I summoned Janice over, and was surprised when Daniel showed up as well.

"I didn't feel you arrive."

"British Rail, I was in Surrey finishing up an assignment and remembered Buffy had said something about the wedding, so I decided to crash".

"Cool, you able to lend a hand fetching some instruments."

"Seems the least I could do for them, so sure."

The three of us 'caught the express' down to Spain and picked up the equipment that we needed. We then popped back up to Scotland and started to set up. Fortunately Oz had gotten word of what was going on and had already started stringing the cable and electric that we would need.

I was setting up the keyboard when I asked "do we actually know anyone that plays keyboards?"

"I do" said Daniel "it's been a while, but I'm not bad."

"All right then, let's get this party started."

So the lineup was Janice on Tenor Sax (which was almost as big as she was), Oz on Bass, Buffy behind the skins, me on the Guitar and Daniel on the Keyboards. Faith and Dawn took turns with the vocals, and even though I'm biased, it sounded pretty good. We went through some softer versions of Motown hits and things like Clapton's 'Wonderful Tonight' and 'Dedicated to the One I Love' by the Mama's and Papa's. We played into the night, riffing just about every song any of us knew. One of the things I noticed while playing were the looks being exchanged between Buffy and Daniel. I knew that she had helped him a lot while he was recovering; I stood there hoping it was something a bit more than friendship, for both their sakes. Also while I was playing I had come to a decision, I had thought about everything that had happened in the last few years and one obvious course of action became clearer and clearer.

We had announced that this would be the last song, and eased into U2's 'All I Want is You' with Dawn taking the lead because Faith was dancing with one of the Council members (hey, they weren't all old farts).

As Dawn worked through the last few bars, her voice just above a throaty whisper; I unplugged and walked up to her. From behind, I put my right arm around her waist and leaned into her left ear.

"Dawn Summers, will you marry me" I asked quietly.

She looked down to see that I had an engagement ring in my left hand, and then she turned and looked at me. She saw that I was completely serious; tears sprang into her eyes and she started to speak, but couldn't seem to manage it. As for me, I was lost in her sky blue eyes as I stood there waiting for her reply.

GOODBYE, FAREWELL AND AMEN

_Any more would be the story of a couple and not two people discovering each other. Not that there isn't romance in that as well, but let's give the lovebirds a bit of privacy, OK._


End file.
